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DRAMAS  AND   TRAGEDIES   OF 
CHIVALRIC  FRANCE 


PRIVATE   MEMOIRS 

OF 

A.  F.  BERTRAND   de   MOLEVILLE 

Volume  One 


MARIE   ANTOINETTE   EDITION 


Limited  to   Six    Hundred  Numbered 
and  Registered  Copies,  of  which  this  is 

309 


Number.. 


JDuplt 


y.: 


r^^^'    JC^Z 


ROMANCES    OF    ROYALTY 


PRIVATE    MEMOIRS 

OF 

A.  F.  BERTRAND  de  MOLEVILLE 

Minister  of  State,  i  790-1 791 
relative  to 

THE  LAST  YEAR  OF  THE  REIGN  OF 
LOUIS  THE   SIXTEENTH 

TRANSLATED    FROM   THE   ORIGINAL    MANUSCRIPT   OF   THE   AUTHOR 

WITH   AN   INTRODUCTION   AND   NOTES 
BY   THE   EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 


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Editor-in-chief 
G.  K.  FORTESCUE,  LL.D. 

Keeper  of  Printed  Books  at  the  British  Museum 
IN    TWO    VOLUMES 

Vol.  I. 


BOSTON 

J.    B.    MILLET    COMPANY 

1909 


Copyright,  igog, 
By  J.  B.  Millet  Company 


Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  Londo7t,  England 
All  rights  reserved 


JLInibcrs'ly  Press 

John  Wilsox  and  Son,  Cambridge,  U.S.A. 


I  •:^  q  UNIVERSITY  Oi-^  C  /.LiFORNU 


SANTA  BAIIBARA 


CONTENTS. 


VOUMK    I. 

PAGE 

Editor's  Introduction 1 

List  of  Books  by  De  Moleville 67 

Chronological  Table,  1789-1792 70 

Introduction  by  De  Moleville 79 

CHAPTER  I. 

A  view  of  the  state  of  France,  previous  to  the  assembling  of  the  States 
General  in  1789.  —  Their  convocation  absolutely  necessary. — 
The  advantages  which  might  have  been  derived  from  it. — The 
causes  of  the  mischiefs  wliich  followed. — The  Character  of  Louis 
XVI.— Of  M.  de  Maurepas 93 

CHAPTER  II. 

Character  of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens. — The  King's  opinion  of  him. — 
First  Assembly  of  Notables.  — Intrigues  to  overturn  M.  de  Calonne's 
plans. —  Their  success. — The  Arclibishop  of  Sens  appointed  first 
Minister.  —  Project  of  Reformation  in  the  Magistracy.  —  Motives  of 
my  repugnance  to  concur  in  this  sciienie  communicated  to  the 
Chancellor. — His  dissimulation.  —  My  departure  for  Brittany  with 
M.  de  Thiard.  —  His  character.  —  Arrival  of  orders  from  the  King. 

—  I  send  ray  resignation.  —  The    Minister's   answer. —  A   capital 
fault  of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens.  —  Reflections 105 

CHAPTER  III. 

Assemble  des  Chambres.  —  Arrival  of  the  King's  Commissaries  in  the 
Palais.  —  Riot  of  the  attorneys'  clerks.  —  Difficulty  which  the  King's 
Commissaries  found  to  enter  the  Grande  Chambre. —  An  account 
of  what  passed  at  this  sitting.  —  Retreat  of  tlie  King's  Commis- 
saries.—  The  insults  which  tliey  received.  —  Insurrection  of  the 
people.  —  Violent  excesses  committed  against  the  Soldiers.  —  The 
Arrival  of  fresh  troops  at  Renues.  —  The  inutility  of  this  mensnre. 

—  Its  consequences 120 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 


PAGE 


Assemblies  held  in  the  Chambres  de  Lecture.  —  Consequences  of  these 

Assemblies.  —  Imprudent  conversations    of  M.   de  Thiard. The 

danger  to  which  I  was  exposed  by  them.  —  A  parody  of  the  lit  de 

justice   exhibited   in   the  streets  by   the   chimney-sweepers. The 

Parliament  meets.  —  Weak  measures  to  separate  it.  —  General  In- 
surrection. —  Violence  of  the  Attorney-General.  —  Deputation  of 
the  Parliament.  —  Publication  of  its  decisions.  — Conduct  of  the 
Nobility,  with  respect  to  M.  d'Hervilly.  —  Weakness  of  M.  de  Thiard     1 28 

CHAPTER  V. 

Progress  of  the  Insurrection.  —  Insolence  of  a  Procureur  du  Roi. Rep- 
resentations   of    the    commission    intermediaire    of    the    States. 

Violent  conduct  of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens.— Decrees  of  the 
Council.— Tumults.— Weakness  of  M.  de  Thiard.— Designs  formed 
against  me.  — My  departure  for  Paris.  — Its  Consequences.— M. 
de  Thiard's  Recall.  — Replaced  by  M.  de  Stainville.  — Retreat  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Sens  —and  of  M.  de  Lamoignon.  — Recall  of  Mr. 
Necker.  —  M.  de  Barentin  appointed  Chancellor.  — Mr.  Necker  pre- 
pares the  Convocation  of  the  States  General. —  His  motives    ...     139 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Remarkable  determination  of  the  Municipality  of  Rennes. — Repre- 
sentations upon  the  necessity  of  annulling  it. — The  other  Muni- 
cipalities of  the  Province  imitate  that  of  Rennes. — I  give  in  my 
resignation.  —  Opening  of  the  States  of  Brittany.  —  Insurrection 
against  the  Nobility.  —  Separation  of  the  States.  —  Opening  of  the 
States  General.  —  Proposal  of  the  club  Breton,  to  Mr.  Necker,  re- 
jected. —  Debates  upon  the  verification  of  rights.  —  Motives  for 
dissolving  the  States  General.  —  Plan  proposed  for  this  purpose 
approved  of,  but  not  followed. — Declaration  of  the  23d  of  June      .     152 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Mr.  Necker      166 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

The  danger  of  permitting  the  National  Assembly  to  issue  Decrees. — 
Motives  and  means  of  maintaining  the  practice  of  voting  by  order. 
—  The  dismission  and  recall  of  Mr.  Necker.  —  Endeavors  of  the 
Deputies  from  Brittany  to  get  me  appointed  Garde  des  Sceaux. — 
Opposition  on  my  part.  —  Memorial,  on  the  reformation  of  which 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

PAOR 

the  Magistracy  was  susceptible. — New  organization  of  the  admin- 
istrative Bodies.  —  Advantages  which  might  have  been  drawn  from 
it.  —  Character  of  M.  de  Montmorin.  —  Retreat  of  M.  de  Fleurieu, 
in  consequence  of  the  perfidious  conduct  of  one  of  his  Clerks.  — 
The  King,  through  M.  de  Montmorin,  offers  me  the  place  of  Minis- 
ter of  the  Marine.  —  Reasons  for  my  refusing. — The  Appointment 
of  M.  Thevenard  to  that  Office 185 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Retreat  of  M.  Thevenard. — The  King  again  proposes  that  I  should 
enter  into  the  Administration.  —  I  accept. — Sentiments  of  the  King 
and  Queen  upon  the  Constitution. — A  Letter  from  me  to  the 
Assembly.  —  Conference  with  M.  Thevenard.  —  Opinion  of  the  dif- 
ferent Parties,  with  respect  to  my  nomination. — 111  disposition  of 
the  Assembly  manifested  in  the  very  first  Sitting.  ^ — Prudent  con- 
duct of  the  King.  —  The  Ministers  agree  among  themselves  to  have 
no  communication  with  the  Committees,  and  always  to  correspond 
directly  with  the  Assembly. —  Proclamation  addressed  to  the  emi- 
grant Nobility. — Letters  from  the  Ministers  of  war  and  marine  to 
the  Officers,  to  engage  them  to  return  to  the  Kingdom 205 

CHAPTER  X. 

Promotions  under  the  Administration  of  M.  Thevenard. — Duke  of 
Orleans  appointed  Admiral.  —  Motives  of  this  appointment. — 
Projected  changes  in  the  Ministry.  —  Resignation  of  M.  de  Mont- 
morin.— Appointment  of  M.  de  Moustier  to  his  place.  —  Afterwards 
retracted. — Motives. — Mess,  de  Segur  and  Barthelemi  refuse  the 
Department  of  Foreign  Affairs.  —  M.  de  Lessart  appointed. —  Re- 
treat of  M.  du  Portail,  War  Minister.  —  Intrigues  to  procure  the 
nomination  of  M.  de  Narbonne  to  that  place.  —  The  Conduct  of 
that  Minister.  —  Singular  Proposal  he  made  to  the  Queen.  —  My 
first  misunderstanding  with  the  Assembly.  —  Result.  —  Decree 
against  the  Emigrants.  —  The  King  refuses  his  sanction. — Message 
from  the  King,  carried  by  all  the  Ministers       215 

CHAPTER  XL 

Nomination  of  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville.  — The  Ministers  dine  at  his  house, 
with  Petion,  and  some  of  the  Members  of  the  Municipality. 
—  Decree  against  the  Priests.  —  The  King  refuses  his  sanction.— 
Denunciation  against  me.  —  The  consequences  of  this  affair. — 
Expulsion  of  Bonjour 233 


Till  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

PAGE 

Constitutional  Guards  of  the  King.  —  Proposals  to  the  King,  respecting 
the  formation  of  his  household  —  The  Treasury  iuform  the  King 
that  they  could  no  longer  pay  any  part  of  the  Civil  List  in  specie.  — 
My  proposal  to  the  Kiug  for  procuring  him  money,  —  Insubordi- 
nation in  the  Forts.  —  M.  de  Lajaille  is  assassinated  at  Brest.  —My 
Complaint  to  the  Assembly,  and  to  the  Garde  des  Sceaux,  on  that 
subject.  —  A  A'isit  from  the  President  of  the  Marine  Committee  — 
The  Committee  determine  upon  a  Decree  of  Accusation  against  me. 

—  I  am  acquainted  with  this  at  Midnight.  —  Shameful  conduct  of 

the  Intendant  de  la  Marine  at  Brest 250 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Bad  success  of  the  last  naval  promotion. —  Resignation  of  almost  all 
the  officers.  —  The  Duke  of  Orleans  accepts  the  rank  of  Admiral. — 
Sentiments  he  expressed  to  me  upon  the  occasion.  —  He  waits 
upon  the  King.  —  He  returns  to  the  Palace  the  Sunday  following, 
and  is  insulted.  —  The  Count  d'Estaing  accepts  the  rank  of 
Admiral,  with  restrictions.  —  His  ridiculous  demands  and  conduct. 

—  The  Deputy  Rouyer  protects  him.  —  Letter  of  Rouyer  to  the 
King.  —  M.  de  Peynier,  after  having  accepted  the  new  rank  with 
which  he  was  invested,  refuses  the  Command  of  the  Marine  at  Brest 

and  gives  in  his  resignation 266 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

Motives  of  the  resolution  which  I  took  of  writing  down  the  discourses 
I  pronounced  in  the  Assembly.  —  A  discourse  which  I  pronounced 
upon  the  state  of  the  Colony  of  St.  Domingo.  —  Effect  which  it 
produced 280 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Singular  conversation  with  Linguet.  —  His  proposal  of  sending  M. 
Duchilleau  to  St.  Domingo.  —  Conditions  proposed  by  Madame 
Duchilleau. — Liuguet's  denunciation  against  me  in  the  Assembly. 
Sensibility  of  the  King.  —  Proof  of  his  fidelity  to  the  Constitution  .     295 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

Measures  taken  by  the  Ministers  to  gain  over  the  principal  journalists 
of  Paris. — M.  de  Narbonne  takes  upon  him  to  treat  with  Brissot 
and  Condorcet. —  Consequences  of  this  negotiation.  —  Atrocious 
imputations  against  the  King  by  Brissot,  in  the  paper  of  the  29th 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PAGB 

of  January.  —  I  denounce  this  paper  in  the  Council,  and  propose 
that  the  author  should  be  prosecuted.  —  The  other  Ministers  think 
it  better  to  despise  this  insult.  —  I  write  to  the  King  upon  this  sub- 
ject—Appearance of  rupture  with  Algiers.  —  Rapid  success  of  the 
measures  employed  upon  this  occasion.  —  Remarkable  offer  of  the 
Dey  to  the  King.  —  Secret  message  of  Tippoo  Sahib.  —  His  presents. 

—  A  conversation  with  the  Queen 307 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Insulting  letter  from  the  President  of  the  Assembly  to  the  King,  which 
his  Majesty  sends  to  the  ministerial  committee. — Letter  written  by 
me,  upon  this  occasion,  to  the  King.  —  Important  measures  are 
taken  to  form  a  royalist  party  in  the  Assembly,  which  fail,  through 
the  indiscretion  of  M.  de  Narbonne. — A  division  in  the  Council. — 
Its  consequences 321 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Generals  Rochambeau,  la  Fayette,  and  Luckner  arrive  at  Paris. — Their 
conversation  with  the  King. — They  are  introduced  into  the  Council. 

—  M.  de  Narbonne  absents  himself  from  the  ministerial  Committees. 

—  M.  de  la  Fayette  comes  to  the  Committee.  —  Speaks  of  the  ill  con- 
sequences which  must  attend  the  misunderstanding  among  the 
Ministers. — He  proposes  that  I  should  retire  from  the  adminis- 
tration.—  My  letter  to  M.  de  Narbonne  respecting  an  article  in 
Brissot's  Journal. — A  letter  from  each  of  the  three  Generals  to 

M.  de  Narbonne 330 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Ministers  assemble  to  examine  the  conduct  of  M.  de  Narbonne. — 
They  unanimously  agree  never  more  to  sit  in  the  Council  with  him. 

—  My  resignation.  —  Letter  from  M.  de  Lessart  to  the  King.  —  My 
conversation  with  his  Majesty. —  Dismission  of  M.  de  Narbonne. — 
Violent  discontents  in  the  Assembly.  —  Decree  against  M.  de 
Lessart.  —  Death  of  the  Emperor. — The  Chevalier  de  Grave  ap- 
pointed minister  of  war 341 

CHAPTER  XX. 

An  offensive  letter  which  I  received  from  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville. — My 
explanation  with  him,  and  its  consequences. —  M.  la  Coste  called 
to  the  Ministry.  —  His  character.  —  M.  Duport  Dutertre,  Cahier  de 
Gerville,  and  Tarbe,  their  characters  and  dismission.  —  Dumouriez 
called  byM.de  Lessart.  —  Supplants  him.  —  Character  of  M.  de 
Lessart       3.55 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAOE 

Louis  XVI Frontispiece 

EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

La  Fayette 64 

By  Grevedon. 
Chaftbb 
VII.    Necker 176 

By  Grevedon. 

X.    The  Comte  d'Artois,  Charles  X 224 

School  of  the  XVIIIth  century ;  in  the  Louvre. 

XII.  Facsimile  op  a  Letter  of  Queen  Marie  Antoinette  on 
THE  Birth  of  her  Second  Son,  Louis  ChArles,  after- 
wards Louis  XVII 256 

XVI.    Condorcet 320 

By  A.  Mausin. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION'. 

BY  G.  K.  FORTESCUE. 

AxTOiXE  FRANgois  Bertrand  de  Moleville,  the  author  of 
these  Memoirs,  was  born  at  Toulouse  in  the  year  1744.  He 
came  of  an  old  family  of  the  "  Noblesse  of  the  Robe,"  which 
had  produced  at  least  one  great  man,  Jean  Bertrand  or 
Bertrandi,  who  was  born  in  1470,  became  First  President  in 
the  Parlement  of  Paris  in  1550,  Chancellor  of  France,  2d  Jan- 
uary 1551.  On  the  death  of  his  wife,  Bertrand  took  orders, 
became  Archbishop  of  Sery  in  1557,  and  Cardinal,  and  died  at 
Venice,  on  his  way  from  Rome,  where  he  had  assisted  at  tlie 
election  of  Pope  Pius  IV.,  in  January,  1560.  Bertrand  do 
Moleville  was  evidently  proud  of  his  collateral  ancestor. 

His  first  literary  ei^ort  was  a  reply  to  Condorcet's  "  Eloge  du 
Chancelier  de  I'llopital "  by  a  "  Lettre  a  Vauteur  de  V Eloge 
du  Chancelier  de  VTIopital,  contenant  des  reclierches  sur  I'his- 
toire  d'  Henri  II."  published  in  1778.  Condorcet  in  praising 
de  I'llopital  had  incidentally  thrown  a  small  quantity  of  mud 
at  Cardinal  Bertrand,  from  which  Bertrand  de  Moleville  en- 
deavours with  spirit  and  with  some  literary  ability  to  cleanse 
him.  One  of  the  Cardinal's  nephews  who  died  in  1594,  became 
First  President  of  the  Parlement  of  Toulouse,  and  it  was 
probably  from  him  that  Bertrand  de  Moleville  traced  his  direct 
descent.  Before  the  Revolution,  as  indeed  at  the  present  time, 
the  Magistracy  was  more  or  less  of  an  hereditary  profession 
and  many  members  of  the  family  of  Bertrand  are  to  be  found 
during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  among  tho 
Vol.  I— I 


2  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

list  of  Judges  and  other  oflScers  of  the  Parlement  of  Toulouse. 
In  one  or  two  later  notices  of  Bertrand,  he  is  given  the  title 
of  Marquis.  During  the  eighteenth  century,  as  after  the  Revo- 
lution, titles  in  France  were  adopted  in  a  very  loose  and  un- 
authorised fashion.  In  the  case  of  Bertrand,  I  do  not  find 
that  this  title  was  bestowed  upon  him  by  any  of  his  con- 
temporaries, nor  does  he  use  it  himself,  either  on  the  title- 
pages  of  his  own  works  or  in  signing  his  letters. 

I  think  therefore  that  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  the  more 
recent  biographical  notices  are  mistaken  and  that  though  a 
member  of  a  reputable  or  even  distinguished  family,  Bertrand 
bore  no  such  title. 

In  the  year  1774  Bertrand  received  the  appointment  of 
"  Maitre  des  Eequetes,"  ^  an  office  which  he  held  until  the  year 
1789  or  1790.     In  1784  he  was  appointed  Intendant  ^  of  Brit- 

1  The  "  Maitres  des  Requetes  "  were  officials  of  the  Council  of  State. 
Their  business  consisting  of  enquiring  into  all  petitions  presented,  for 
relief  from  taxation  or  other  objects  to  the  Council  of  State  or  the 
Council  of  Finance.  They  also  arranged  the  business  to  be  placed  be- 
fore each  meeting  of  the  Council.  There  were  forty-eight  of  these  offi- 
cials, appointed  by  the  Crown  from  candidates  who  were  over  thirty-one 
years  of  age  and  had  served  for  at  least  six  years  in  the  lower  grades 
of  the  Magistracy  of  the  Parlements.  They  were  paid  by  fees  which 
varied  from  150,000  to  200,000  livres.  From  this  body  were  usually 
selected  the  Intendants  of  Provinces  and  occasionally  the  Councilors 
of  State. 

2  The  system  of  local  government  by  Intendants  of  Provinces,  is 
usually  ascribed  to  Richelieu,  but  in  point  of  fact  it  was  not  due  to 
any  one  Sovereign  or  Statesman  but  grew  by  degrees  until  it  ac- 
quired the  character  of  a  permanent  Institution  under  the  personal 
reign  of  Louis  XIV.  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Each 
province  of  France  was  nominally  controlled  by  a  Governor,  usually  a 
man  of  high  rank  who  had  served  in  the  Army.  This  decorative  offi- 
cial drew  a  large  income  or  salary  from  the  Province,  but  did  little 
more.  The  real  rulers  of  the  Provinces  were  the  Intendants,  who,  as 
the  actual  representatives  of  the  Sovereign,  possessed  almost  unlimited 
powers. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION".  3 

tany.  The  province  was  teeming  with  discontent  and  Ber- 
trand's  efforts  to  preserve  law  and  order  brought  him  into 
serious  difficulties.  During  the  years  1786  and  1787  the  Es- 
tates and  the  Parlement  had  declared  themselves  in  "  scission  " 
with  the  Intendant,  meaning  simply  what  we  now  call  a  "  boy- 
cott," a  refusal  to  hold  communication  with  him  either  officially 
or  in  private  life.  In  1788  Bertrand  was  sent  as  a  Eoyal 
Commissioner  to  Brittany  to  accompany  the  Marquis  de  Thiard, 
Military  Governor  of  the  Provinces,  in  order  to  carry  out 
Lomenie  de  Brienne's  plan  of  withdrawing  the  power  of  reg- 

They,  and  their  subordinate  oflScers,  known  as  Subdelegates,  as- 
sessed and  collected  all  such  taxes  as  were  not  farmed  out  to  con- 
tractors, maintained  order,  and  regulated  every  detail  of  local  busi- 
ness. At  the  same  time,  they  were  in  rank  and  dignity  (although 
they  were  usually  addressed  by  the  people  as  Monseigneur)  inferior 
to  the  Governors  and  Magistrates  of  the  Sovereign  Courts. 

They  were  usually  selected  from  the  lower  ranks  of  the  "  Noblesse 
de  la  Robe  "  or  from  the  educated  middle  classes.  Frequently,  as  in 
the  case  of  Bertrand  de  Moleville,  they  were  chosen  from  the  ranks  of 
the  "  Maitre  des  Requetes,"  and  were  liable  to  dismissal.  They  were 
as  a  rule,  an  honorable  and  able  body  of  ofBcials.  Several  of  the  best 
Ministers  of  the  eighteenth  century,  such  as  Turgot,  had  served  their 
apprenticeship  in  the  art  of  governing,  as  Intendants.  John  Law, 
who  had  ample  experience  of  the  French  system  of  government,  said  on 
one  occasion  to  d'Argenson :  "  While  I  had  control  of  the  finances, 
I  learnt  a  fact  which  I  could  never  otherwise  have  believed;  you 
must  know  that  the  whole  government  of  this  Kingdom  rests  in  the 
hands  of  thirty  Intendants.  Your  Parlements,  States  and  Governors 
are  nothing.  You  depend  for  the  welfare,  or  misery,  for  the  abun- 
dance or  famine  in  your  provinces  on  these  thirty  Maitres  des  Re- 
quetes." 

The  Intendants  of  Provinces  were  abolished  by  a  Decree  of  the 
National  Assembly,  22  Dec.  1789,  and  were  replaced  by  a  second  De- 
cree, 7  Sept.  1790,  by  the  elective  Directories  of  the  newly  created  De- 
partments. One  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte's  earliest  acts  as  First  Con- 
sul, was  to  revive,  with  powers  in  some  respects  more  arbitrary,  in 
others  more  restricted,  the  Intendants  under  the  title  of  Prefects ; 
officials  who  remain  to  this  day  with  much  the  same  position  as  that 
assigned  to  them  by  the  first  Council. 


4  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

istering  decrees  from  the  Sovereign  Courts  of  the  Parlement, 
and  transferring  it  to  a  new  "  Plenary  Court."  ^ 

The  edict  creating  the  new  Court  was  at  first  registered  by 
the  Parlement  of  Eennes,  but  on  the  morning  following  the 
Pegistration,  the  Parlement  again  met  and  recanted  its  regis- 
tration. "  Lettres  de  Cachet "  ordering  the  members  of  the 
Parlement  to  retire  to  their  own  homes  were  produced  but 
were  of  no  avail.  Eiots  of  the  most  serious  nature  broke  out, 
which  the  Marquis  de  Thiard,  kind-hearted  but  feeble  after  the 
manner  of  the  French  nobles  of  the  period,  tried  to  meet  by 
exposing  the  large  force  of  soldiery  under  his  coimnand  with 
unloaded  muskets,  to  the  brickbats  and  insults  of  the  mob. 

The  Intendant's  residence  was  attacked  and  narrowly  es- 
caped destruction  and  Bertrand,  unable  to  inspire  M.  de  Thiard 
with  anything  approximating  energy,  returned  to  Paris  to  re- 
port matters  to  the  Ministers,  on  the  night  of  the  8th  June. 
On  the  6th  December  1788,  after  futile  efforts  to  induce 
Xecker  to  take  active  measures  to  punish  the  Municipality  of 

*  Cardinal  Lom€nie  de  Brienne's  proposal  was  more  or  less  a  copy 
of  the  new  Parlement;  known  as  the  "Parlement  Maupeou,"  sub- 
stituted for  the  old  Parlcments  by  the  Chancellor  Maupeou  in   1771. 

This  body  had  been  dissolved  by  Louis  XVI.  in  1774  and  the  old 
Parlcments  restored  to  their  former  powers.  In  consequence  of  their 
repeated  refusal  to  rej^ister  edicts  enforcing  a  tax  upon  lands,  Lom6nie 
now  designed  to  abolish  the  existing  Parlcments,  thirteen  in  number, 
and  to  substitute  for  them  a  new  Sovereign  Court,  named  the  "  Cour 
PK'ni^re,"  to  be  composed  of  certain  Nobles  and  Judges,  nominated 
by  the  King  for  life  with  the  right  of  registering  edicts;  while  lesser 
Courts  were  to  be  established  in  each  Bailliage  for  administratory 
and  judicial  divisions  of  the  country  in  whose  hands  the  administra- 
tion of  justice  should  chiefly  rest.  The  Edict  establishing  these 
Courts  and  suppressing  the  existing  Parlements  was  registered  in  a 
"  Lit  de  Justice  "  by  Louis  XVI.  on  the  8th  May   1778. 

The  execution  of  the  Edict  caused  such  a  serious  and  threatening 
disturbance  throughout  France  tliat  the  scheme  was  abandoned  and 
preparation  was  begun,  first  by  LomCnie  himself  and  after  liis  resigna- 
tion by  Necker,  for  summoning  the  States-General  to  meet  in   1789, 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  5 

Eennes  for  the  riots,  he  resigned  the  office  of  Intendant  of 
Brittany  and  retired  on  a  pension  of  12,000  livres,  while  retain- 
ing his  post  of  Maitre  des  Eequetes. 

From  this  period  to  the  date  of  his  appointment  to  the 
Ministry  of  Marine,  Bertrand  remained  in  Paris,  fulfilling  his 
duties  at  Versailles  until  October,  1789,  after  which  month  the 
Council  of  State,  or  what  remained  of  it,  followed  the  King 
to  Paris.  His  house  in  the  capital  was  in  the  Eue  Barbette, 
which  was  situated  in  the  Electoral  District  of  the  Minimes. 
He  attended  the  meetings  in  his  District  and  gives  in  Chapter 
YIII.  an  interesting  account  of  the  proceedings  there,  until 
the  Jacobites,  by  sending  "  detachments  of  their  boisterous  ad- 
herents, to  deride,  insult  and  threaten  all  whose  opinions  were 
dictated  by  good  sense  and  moderation,"  frightened  or  drew 
away  all  the  respectable  members.  More  royalist  than  the 
King  (which  indeed  was  not  difficult),  Bertrand  tells  us  that 
for  nine  months  of  the  years  1T90-1T91  he  refused  to  wear 
the  National  Cockade,  which  Louis  had  himself  worn  since 
the  17th  July  1789;  one  among  many  proofs  that  he  was 
a  man  of  more  individuality  than  the  mass  of  soft-hearted, 
sensibility-stricken  officials  among  whom  he  lived,  and  that  his 
politics  were,  as  he  himself  describes  them,  "  not  aristocratic 
but  royalist."  On  the  resignation  of  that  excellant  man,  the 
Count  rieurieu,  May  1791,  he  was  offered  the  Ministry  of 
Marine,  which  he  refused  and  thus  escaped  the  grave  difficulty 
into  which  he  would  have  been  thrown  by  the  King's  flight 
to  Varenncs.  i\.t  this  period  the  Ministry  in  office  decided 
that  it  would  be  the  more  patriotic  course  to  carry  on  the 
business  of  the  nation  during  the  King's  suspension.  Bertrand 
was  by  no  means  of  this  opinion,  "  Xo  consideration,"  he  says, 
"  would  have  induced  me  to  consent  to  become  one  of  the 
accomplices  of  a  monstrous  government,  in  which  the  King, 
unworthily  outraged  and  imprisoned  in  his  own  palace,  Jiad 


f6  EDITOK'S  INTRODUCTION. 

not,  nor  could  have,  any  part."  Fortunately  for  his  fellow 
ministers,  as  well  as  for  himself,  he  was  not  put  to  the  test. 
He  had  not  long  to  wait  before  he  was  again  pressed  by  the 
King  himself,  who  was  restored  to  some  semblance  of  authority, 
to  accept  the  Ministry  of  Marine,  in  succession  to  Admiral 
Thevenard,  who  was  thankful  to  resign,  after  less  than  four 
months  of  office.  This  time  Bertrand  felt  himself  obliged  to 
accept  and  was  appointed  Minister  of  Marine  on  the  4th  Oc- 
tober 1792,  three  days  after  the  newly  elected  Legislative  As- 
sembly began  its  session.  Every  Minister  of  the  Crown  at 
this  period  had  to  encounter  endless  vexations  and  difficulties 
in  their  endeavours  to  carry  on  the  Government,  but  no  branch 
of  the  executive  presented  so  impossible  a  task  of  making 
bricks  without  straw  as  that  of  the  Navy,  which  included  also 
the  government  of  the  colonies. 

The  Doctrine  of  the  Sovereignty  of  the  People  involved 
paradoxes  and  obstacles  enough  in  civil  life,  but  when  it  spread 
to  the  sea  and  to  the  colonies  it  became  absolutely  unworkable. 

The  French  Xavy  had  proved  to  be  a  magnificent  fighting 
force  during  the  American  War  of  Independence,  and  under 
Louis  the  Sixteenth's  enlightened  and  generous  patronage  it 
had  done  excellent  scientific  work  in  exploration,  but  at  this 
first  touch  of  revolutionary  experience  it  shrivelled  into  a  state 
of  chronic  mutiny  and  disorder.  The  corps  of  naval  officers 
was  less  aristocratic  than  that  of  the  Army,  but  among  them 
was  a  fair  sprinkling  of  men  of  high  family,  while  most  of 
them  were  of  gentle-birth  and  breeding.  They  came  especially 
from  the  old  country  oSToblesse  of  Xormandy  and  Brittany. 
The  seamen  were  enlisted  for  the  most  part  by  conscription, 
though  the  press-gang  was  occasionally  used  in  the  seaports 
when  men  were  badly  needed. 

Both  officers  and  seamen  had  their  grievances.  The  officers 
showed  the  same  jealous  dislike  of  the  civil  branch  of  the 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  fj, 

service  as  has  always  existed  in  England  between  executive 
officers  and  the  Admiralty.  The  seamen  complained  of  hard 
usage  and  wretched  food,  though  I  doubt  whether  their  con- 
dition was  as  bad  as  that  of  our  men  before  the  mutinies  at 
the  Xore  and  elsewhere  in  1797.  But  what  really  brought 
about  the  chronic  state  of  mutiny  which  rent  the  French  Navy 
during  the  years  1790  and  1793  were  the  powerful  Jacobin 
clubs  which  established  themselves  at  Brest  and  at  every  other 
seaport  of  France.  Under  the  auspices  of  these  clubs  and  of 
the  sea-lawyers  of  the  fleet,  officers  were  insulted  and  openly 
disobeyed  on  board  ship,  and  mobbed,  beaten,  occasionally  as- 
sassinated when  they  set  foot  on  shore.  The  cases  of  the 
murderous  assault  on  Captain  La  Jaille  and  of  the  hopeless 
insubordination  of  the  officials  at  Brest,  related  by  Bertrand 
(Vol.  I.,  256-265,  and  Vol.  II.,  3-16),  are  only  isolated 
instances  of  the  universal  disintegration  of  the  French  Navy. 
Naturally,  the  officers,  finding  their  case  desperate,  fled  to  save 
their  liberty  or  their  lives,  while  the  seamen  deserted  whole- 
sale. Admiral  Thevenard,  Bertrand's  immediate  predecessor, 
reported  that  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  officers  and  a  large 
proportion  of  the  seamen  had  abandoned  their  ships  and  were 
scattered  throughout  France  and  Europe. 

The  Constitutional  Assembly,  as  usual  when  brought  face 
to  face  with  the  people,  truckled  to  the  clubs  and  the  armed 
mob  of  revolting  sailors.  They  passed  a  series  of  decrees  of 
astounding  imbecility,  more  quack  pills  to  cure  the  earth- 
quake; repealed  a  mild  code  of  naval  discipline  recently  en- 
acted; invented  a  new  flag  with  the  tricolors  in  the  corner, 
and  ordered  the  historic  salute  of  "  Vive  le  Roi  "  to  be  amended 
into  a  salute  to  the  Nation,  the  Law  and  the  King.  Strange 
to  say,  these  bold  measures  failed  to  keep  the  sailors  from 
assaulting  their  officers,  or  the  officers  from  deserting  their 
ships.     The  Assembly  therefore  appointed  a  Committee  which 


8  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

drew  up  the  new  Constitution  of  the  Kavy  referred  to  in 
Bertrand's  Eeport  upon  his  Ministry  which  traced  the  cause  of 
all  the  disorder  to  the  fact  that  many  of  the  officers  were  gen- 
tlemen, and  guarded  against  this  terrible  danger  by  abolishing 
the  Naval  Training  Colleges  and  ordering  that  the  officers  of 
the  future  should  be  selected  by  examination,  from  the  Mer- 
chant Service.  When  the  French  were  called  upon  to  meet 
the  English  at  sea  in  1793,  many  of  the  officers  returned  to 
duty,  and  gradually  the  Navy  was  restored  to  something  like 
discipline,  but  the  evil  had  struck  into  the  heart  of  the  service, 
and  even  Napoleon  himself  was  unable  to  restore  it  to  the 
high  position  it  had  held  before  the  Eevolution.  The  state 
of  the  colonies  was,  if  possible,  more  dangerous  and  more 
incurable  than  that  of  the  Marine,  All  the  French  West 
Indian  Islands  were  in  a  state  of  uproar  and  confusion,  the 
worst  of  all  being  San  Domingo,  the  French  portion  of  which 
we  know  to-day  as  Hayti.  Under  its  French  master  during 
the  half  century  which  preceded  the  Eevolution  Hayti  was 
far  ahead  of  all  other  colonies,  British,  French  or  Spanish, 
in  prosperity,  civilization  and  culture.  It  supplied  Europe 
with  almost  the  whole  of  its  sugar  and  cotton.  In  1788  the 
population  consisted  of  27,717  white  men,  21,808  mulattoes  and 
free  negroes,  and  465,564  slaves.  The  white  men  were  divided 
into  planters,  traders  and  other  inhabitants  of  the  towns, 
Port-au-Prince,  Cap.  Frangais  and  a  few  others,  and  the 
"  mean  whites,"  including  a  number  of  deserters  from  the 
Army  and  Navy;  many  of  the  mulattoes  were  well-to-do  and 
fairly  educated.  All  was  apparent  peace  and  prosperity  until 
the  Eevolution  fever  took  possession  of  the  Island. 

From  this  moment,  Hayti  became  a  sort  of  devil's  cauldron 
of  rival  Assemblies,  insurrection  of  mulattoes,  civil  war  be- 
tween the  aristocratic  planters,  the  constitutional  burghers  of 
the  towns,  the  democratic  "  mean  whites,"  while  the  mulattoes 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  9 

fought  for  their  own  land  against  the  whites  at  large.  Mean- 
while in  France,  Brissot,  on  his  return  from  England  in  1788, 
copied  the  emancipation  movement  by  founding  a  Society  of 
the  Friends  of  the  Blacks,  which  was  joined  by  Mirabeau 
(who  soon  repented),  Claviere,  La  Fayette,  Gregoire,  Sieyes, 
Petion  and  many  others,  soon  to  become  founders. 

Under  the  influence  of  this  Society  a  decree  was  passed  by 
the  Constituent  Assembly,  on  the  motion  of  Gregoire,  15th 
May  1791,  declaring  that  every  person,  irrespective  of  color, 
dwelling  on  French  soil,  was  a  free  man  and  enjoyed  all  the 
rights  of  citizenship,  and  that  slavery  was  forever  abolished 
in  the  French  Colonies.  The  news  was  not  long  in  reaching 
Hayti  and  its  consequences  were  immediate.  On  the  23d 
August  1791,  the  whole  body  of  slaves  rose  in  insurrection 
and  murdered,  often  under  circumstances  of  the  most  terrible 
brutality,  every  white  man,  woman  and  child  on  whom  they 
could  lay  hands.  There  is  hardly  a  story  in  history  so  ap- 
palling as  this.  The  French  planters  were  literally  swept  out 
of  the  world. 

The  strange  apostrophe  so  often  quoted,  "  Perish  *  the  col- 
onies rather  than  a  principle  "  was  literally  carried  out.  The 
principle  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  prevailed  and  the  colony 
perished.  It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  Bertrand 
delivered  his  able,  statesmanlike  speech  on  the  colonies  to  the 
Legislative  x\.ssembly,  reported  in  full. 

4  It  seldom  happens  that  historical  utterances  are  exactly  correct. 

The  words  "  Perissent  les  Colonies  plutot  qu'un  principe  "  ( Perish 
the  Colonies  rather  than  a  principle)  were  not  spoken  in  this  exact 
form. 

The  honour  of  inventinj^  the  most  foolish  political  maxims  in  ex- 
istence must  be  equally  divided  between  Dupont  de  Nemours  and 
Ivobespierre.  In  the  debate  on  slavery  and  the  West  Indies,  May, 
1791,  Dupont  used  the  words:  "Better  to  sacrifice  the  colonies  than 
to  abandon  a  principle."  While  Robespierre  in  the  course  of  his 
speech  said:  "  Perish  the  colonies  rather  than  allow  them  to  cost  ua 
our  honour,  our  glory,  our  liberty." 


10  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

His  words  and  his  actions  were  alike  unavailing.  The  sym- 
pathies of  the  Legislative  Assembly  were  first  in  favour  of  the 
interesting  blacks,  next  witli  the  mean  whites,  last  and  least 
of  all  with  the  planters,  who  after  all  were  aristocrats  deserving 
of  their  miserable  fate.  In  any  case  the  mutiny  of  the  fleet 
rendered  it  impossible  to  send  any  effective  aid  to  Hayti.  It 
was  not  until  1801-1802  that  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  first 
Court  to  recognise  the  colony, 

A  force  of  35,000  soldiers  under  General  Leclerc  (Xapoleon's 
brother-in-law)  landed  in  Hayti  in  February,  1802.  They 
treacherously  succeeded  in  trapping  Toussaint  Louverture,  the 
one  and  only  great  man  born  of  Xegro  parents  whom  the 
Island  has  produced,  and  sent  him  to  perish  miserably  in 
France.  Having  achieved  this  sinister  victory,  the  French 
Army  melted  away  from  fever  and  starvation,  losing  24,000 
souls  within  a  few  weeks. 

Hayti  was  again  deserted  and  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
the  wretch  Dcssalines,  elected  President  on  the  8th  October 
1805,  proclaimed  as  the  Emperor  Jacques  I.  shortly  after- 
wards and  assassinated  17th  October  1806. 

From  that  day  to  this  the  once  prosperous  and  thriving 
colony  has  been  steadily  falling  back  into  sheer  and  tawdry 
barbarism,  intensified  by  Yaudoux  worship. 

Bertrand  resigned  his  office,  after  five  months  of  wasted 
energy,  on  the  9th  March  1792.  From  that  date  to  the 
10th  August,  he  remained  in  Paris,  forming  part  of  the  so- 
called  "  Austrian  Committee,"  a  term  which  was  first  in- 
vented by  Danton,  immediately  after  the  return  of  the  royal 
family  from  Varennes,  June  1791.  He  did  his  best  to 
advise  Louis  XVI.  and  Marie  Antoinette  in  circumstances 
which  hardly  admitted  of  advice; — vainly  devising  with  the 
few  faithful  friends  and  subjects  who  still  clung  to  their 
sovereign,  one  plan  after  another  for  his  rescue  or  escape,  and 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  11 

attempting  schemes  for  gaining,  at  any  cost,  a  few  months  or 
even  weeks  of  safety  by  buying  off  Jacobins,  issuing  false 
placards,  or  packing  the  galleries  of  the  Assembly,  schemes 
■which  he  himself  describes  as  "useless,  costly  and  perilous," 
and  yet  which  were  the  utmost  that  his  energy  or  devotion 
could  suggest.  Judging,  as  we  may  now,  from  our  knowl- 
edge of  subsequent  events,  we  can  say  with  certainty  that 
Bertrand  made  during  this  period  one  fatal  blunder.  Better 
by  far  for  the  royal  family  than  all  his  efforts  at  bribery 
and  intrigue,  would  have  been  the  advice  which  he  should 
have  pressed  upon  the  King  and  Queen,  in  or  out  of  season, 
to  become  reconciled  to  the  Constitutionalists.  It  was  their 
only  chance,  and  yet  Bertrand  seems  never  to  have  realised 
it.  He  held  himself  to  be  a  pure  Eoyalist  and  had  nothing 
but  jibes  and  jeers  for  Karbonne  and  Dumouriez  and  La 
Fayette  and  the  other  constitutional  royalists,  who  formed  the 
last  hope  of  the  Monarchy. 

Immediately  after  the  10th  August,  the  Assembly  launched 
a  Decree  of  Accusation  against  all  the  Ministers  who  had  com- 
posed the  King's  Council  during  the  month  of  Xovember, 
1791. 

There  is  always  an  attraction  in  narratives  of  escape  and 
adventure  and  no  portion  of  these  Memoirs  possesses  a  greater 
interest  than  Bcrtrand's  story  of  his  concealment,  escape  and 
arrival  in  England  on  the  19th  October  1T92.  Of  his  sub- 
sequent life  little  is  known.  I  give  here  such  disconnected 
fragments  as  I  have  been  al)le  to  discover.  Altliough  through- 
out the  greater  part  of  his  long  exile  he  lived  in  England,  he 
appears  to  have  visited  Italy  in  1794.  On  the  9th  August 
of  that  year,  the  Abbe  Jous  writes  to  that  arch-plotter,  the 
Count  d'Antraigues,  "  Bertrand  has  returned  to  Florence.  He 
maintains  that  his  conduct  needs  no  justification.  Remusat 
declares  that  he  is  not  guilty,  but  is  an  excellent  royalist,  but 


12  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

I  have  told  Eemiisat  that  I  would  not  visit  him  until  he  has 
succeeded  in  purifying  his  character  and  re-establishing  it  in 
the  opinion  of  honourable  people." 

This  extraordinary  letter  requires  a  few  words  of  explana- 
tion. It  is  unfortunate  both  in  the  interests  of  justice  and 
of  history  that  the  same  word  "  Emigre  "  should  be  used  to 
describe  two  absolutely  different  classes;  the  one  composed  of 
the  princes,  nobles,  ladies  and  others  who  fled  from  France 
in  July,  1789,  and  the  other  of  those  who  like  Bertrand  were 
driven  from  their  own  country  by  proscription  and  as  the  sole 
means  of  saving  their  lives.  The  "  First  Emigration,"  as  it 
is  called,  took  place  immediately  after  the  fall  of  the  Bastile 
and  the  King's  submission  to  the  People  of  Paris,  14th  to 
18th  July  irS9. 

The  King's  brother,  the  Count  d'Artois,  the  Prince  de 
Conde  and  their  families  set  the  evil  example,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  great  majority  of  the  Kobles,  members  of  the 
Magistracy,  a  few  Bishops,  a  bevy  of  fashionable  ladies  and 
scores  of  children. 

To  emigrate  became  "good  form,"  and  the  early  Emigres 
left  France  gaily  and  light-heartedly  enough,  leaving  their  sov- 
ereigns to  bear  the  brunt  of  their  cowardly  desertion.  Their 
punishment  was  more  than  adequate  to  their  crime.  For  ten 
years  or  more  they  were  doomed  to  wander  through  Europe, 
their  properties  confiscated,  their  lives  forfeited  if  they  dared 
to  put  foot  on  their  native  soil,  their  relatives  Avho  remained 
in  France,  imprisoned,  guillotined,  or  fined  till  nothing  re- 
mained to  them.  Many  of  them  fought  against  their  country, 
others  plotted  or  schemed  vainly. 

One  would  suppose  that  four  years'  experience  of  the  results 
of  this  flight  and  of  the  irreparable  evils  that  followed  it, 
would  have  brought  repentance  in  its  train  and  covered  them 
with  shame  and  confusion  as  with  a  cloak.     Not  at  all.     These 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  13 

early  deserters,  the  only  voluntary  Emigres,  as  distinguished 
from  the  victims  of  proscription,  were  pleased  to  consider 
themselves  as  the  only  "  pure "  Eoyalists,  and  to  pour  their 
scorn  and  contempt  on  those  whom  duty,  honour  and  courage 
had  inspired  to  do  their  utmost  for  their  King  and  country, 
until  they  were  driven  to  take  refuge  from  the  storm  which 
the  early  Emigres,  in  no  small  degree,  had  conjured  up.  It 
is  a  piteous  spectacle  and  I  am  glad  to  turn  from  it  with  the 
remark  that  such  ostracism  was  a  curious  retribution  for 
Bertrand's  scorn  of  the  Constitutionalists  while  he  remained 
in  France.  In  February,  1800,  Bertrand  was  engaged  in  a 
highly  interesting  controversy  with  Charles  James  Fox  on  the 
character  of  Louis  XVI.  and  his  share  of  responsibility  for 
the  war.  There  are  many  passages  in  the  letter  written  by 
Fox,  during  this  controversy,  which  are  of  high  interest.  I 
quote  a  few  here  which  bear  specially  on  Louis  XVI.  Fox 
writes  on  the  9th  February  1800,  "With  respect  to  the  un- 
fortunate Monarch  for  whose  memory  you  manifest  a  solicitude 
which  does  you  honour,  no  man  in  this  country  lamented  his 
death  more  than  myself;  no  man  was  more  shocked  at  the 
cruelty  and  injustice  of  those  who  condemned  him  to  suffer, 
but  these  sentiments  may  surely  be  entertained  without  ap- 
proving all  he  did,  whether  acting  from  the  dictates  of  his 
own  mind,  or  pursuant  to  the  counsel  of  others.  Still,  as  I 
am  persuaded  that  very  few  princes  would  have  acted  better 
in  his  situation,  and  that  that  part  of  his  conduct  to  which 
I  cannot  but  impute  error,  was  punished  far  beyond  what  it 
merited,  I  pity  him  much  more  than  I  censure  him."  I  find 
no  further  mention  of  Bertrand  until  the  spring  of  1803, 
when  he  had  the  misfortune  to  be  completely  duped  by  a 
clever  scoundrel  named  Mehee,  who  at  this  time  took  the 
name  of  Latouche,  and  is  now  known  as  Mehee  de  La  Touche. 
Mehee  had  been  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Commune  of 


14  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

Paris  in  September,  1792,  and  in  this  capacity  had  signed 
orders  for  the  payment  of  the  "workers,"  i.  e.  murderers,  in 
the  prisons  during  the  massacres.  Since  that  time  he  had 
been  a  terrorist,  a  thermidorian,  a  reactionist  and  a  terrorist 
once  more.  In  1802  the  attention  of  the  First  Consul  was 
called  to  him  for  a  moment;  and  in  consequence  no  time  was 
lost  in  clapping  him  up  in  the  prison  of  the  He  d'Oleron. 

In  December  of  the  same  year  he  escaped  and  made  his 
way,  first  to  the  Channel  Islands  and  then  to  London.  Here 
he  called  on  Bertrand,  to  whom  he  represented  himself  as  a 
repentant  Jacobin,  weary  of  crime  and  desirous  to  find  salva- 
tion by  serving  the  royal  cause.  Bertrand  lent  the  man  money, 
introduced  him  to  the  English  foreign  office,  and  answered 
for  the  honesty  of  his  conversion,  consequently  his  services 
were  accepted  as  a  spy  by  the  English  Government,  who  em- 
ployed him  both  at  home  and  abroad  and  filled  his  empty 
pockets.  Meanwhile  he  contrived  to  obtain  similar  employ- 
ment from  the  French  Government,  at  this  time  anxious  and 
uneasy  about  the  Emigres  in  England.  He  apparently  ob- 
tained some  valuable  information  on  the  movements  of  George 
Cadoudal  and  his  fellow  conspirators,  for  after  Cadoudal's 
capture  he  was  given  a  full  pardon  and  allowed  to  return  to 
Paris.  Then  he  published  one  of  the  most  delightfully  cynical 
books  ever  written  in  which  he  gives  a  full,  and  perfectly  un- 
truthful account  of  his  double  treachery.  The  book  is  entitled 
''Alliance  entre  les  Jacobins  de  France  avec  le  Ministera 
Anglais;  les  premiers  representes  par  le  Citizen  Mehee,  et  le 
Ministere  Anglais  par  MM.  Flamand,  YorJce  et  les  Lords 
Pelham  et  HawTceshwry."  In  the  book  a  great  deal  of  space  is 
devoted  to  Bertrand,  who  naturally  enough  was  rewarded  for 
showing  Mehee  peculiar  kindness  by  receiving  from  him  a 
peculiar  portion  of  abuse  and  calumny. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  15 

In  the  year  1806,  he  was  again  so  unfortunate  as  to  be 
brought  into  painful  contact  with  a  fellow-countryman,  of  a 
very  different  social  standing  from  Mehee.  This  was  the 
Marquis  de  Chamboras,  whose  end  was  a  sordid  tragedy. 

Chamboras  was  a  man  of  high  family  and  position  before 
the  Eevolution;  a  nephew  of  the  Marshal  de  Biron  and  a 
cousin  of  the  Duke  de  Lauzun.  He  took  the  Eevolutionary 
side  and  became  in  1790  Mayor  and  commandant  of  the  iSTa- 
tional  Guard  of  Sens.  In  1792  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  Mareehal  de  Camp  and  from  June  17th  to  August  1st, 
held  the  office  of  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  At  this  time  he 
became  mixed  up  with  some  of  Beaumarchais'  commercial 
transactions  and  was  denounced,  as  indeed  was  every  Minister 
of  the  Crown,  by  Brissot.  After  the  10th  August  he  escaped 
to  England  where  he  opened  a  shop  and  set  up  business  as  a 
watchmaker  and  jeweller. 

It  should  be  said  that  almost  every  fimigre,  deprived  as 
each  was  of  all  his  property  in  France,  endeavoured  by  some 
trade  or  mechanical  work  to  add  to  the  small  pension  granted 
to  destitute  refugees  by  the  English  Government.  Many  of 
these  earned  and  deserved  success.  Xot  so  Chamboras.  He 
seems  to  have  cheated  or  robbed  numbers  of  his  fellow  exiles. 
In  the  case  of  Bertrand  de  Moleville,  he  obtained  from  him 
a  supply  of  port  wine  to  the  value  of  £70,  £500  in  cash,  for 
the  purchase  of  linen,  and  a  number  of  other  sums,  making  a 
total  capital  of  £2,000. 

Bertrand  afterwards  found  that  Chamboras  had  swindled 
him  out  of  the  whole  of  the  large  sums  entrusted  to  him  and 
had  lost  it  all  in  gambling  houses.  On  the  22d  February 
1806,  Chamboras  was  convicted  at  the  Clerkenwell  Sessions 
and  sentenced  to  six  months'  imprisonment  at  Newgate.  He 
died  in  abject  misery  shortly  after  his  release. 


16  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

rrom  this  trial  and  from  allusions  in  his  correspondence, 
I  gather  that  Bertrand  dealt  in  wine,  and  apparently  in  drugs 
also. 

In  1808,  he  intervened  in  the  long  and  bitter  controversy 
between  Count  Joseph  de  Puisaye  and  his  detractors. 

The  Count  de  Puisaye  had  been  in  chief  command  of  the 
Quiberon  expedition  in  1795,  and  the  miserable  fiasco  in  which 
it  resulted  was  generally  attributed  to  him  by  his  brother 
Emigres,  some  of  whom  accused  him  of  treachery,  others  of 
personal  cowardice.  In  1808,  Puisaye,  in  the  eighth  volume 
of  his  Memoirs,  devoted  to  his  own  defence,  published  some 
exceedingly  unpleasing  remarks  on  the  Duke  d'Avary,  the 
nobleman  who  had  assisted  the  Count  de  Torrence  (Louis 
XVIII.)  to  escape  from  Prance  in  June,  1791,  and  who 
was  now  the  King's  most  confidential  friend.  In  reply  the 
Duke  d'Avary  retaliated  in  a  report  addressed  to  Louis  XVIII. 
on  the  Quiberon  expedition. 

Bertrand's  part  in  this  controversy  was  that  of  a  peace- 
maker. His  sympathies  were  with  Puisaye,  who  was  a  personal 
friend.  He  seems  to  have  done  all  in  his  power  to  induce 
him  to  abstain  from  publishing  the  violent  attack  on  d'Avary 
in  his  eighth  volume.  In  the  British  Museum  are  preserved 
a  number  of  letters,  several  hundreds  in  all,  written  by  Ber- 
trand between  the  years  1808  and  1815  to  the  Count  de 
Puisaye,  the  Count  de  Brecourt  and  others.  Apart  from  their 
bearing  on  the  interminable  Puisaye  controversy,  they  contain 
a  great  deal  of  interesting  information  as  to  the  proceedings 
of  the  comparatively  small  number  of  ultra-royalist  French- 
men who  still  remained  in  England.  They  give  also  some 
account  of  Louis  XVIIL,  and  his  brother  the  Count  d'Artois; 
on  their  relations  with  the  English  Government,  and  on  their 
rather  sordid  and  melancholy  Court  at  Hartwell  House.  One 
of  tlie  most  attractive  of  these  letters  dated  March,  1811,  was 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  17 

written  to  Count  de  Puisaye  -who  was  living  at  Fursden  House, 
Plympton,  Devonshire,  and  was  chiefly  dependent  on  a  pension 
granted  to  him  by  the  British  Government,  upon  the  manage- 
ment of  his  money  affairs.  Bertrand,  in  this  letter,  draws  up 
for  Puisaye's  guidance,  an  annual  budget  from  which  it  ap- 
pears that  it  was  possible  in  that  golden  age,  to  keep  three 
servants,  horses,  kitchen  and  flower  gardens  and  all  sorts  of 
pleasant  things,  including  wine,  "  rhum,"  and  any  quantity 
of  cider  and  small  beer  on  an  income  of  £350  per  annum. 
The  budget  and  the  accompanying  excellent  advice  is  too  re- 
mote from  our  subject  and  too  lengthy  to  be  given  here,  but 
I  recommend  it  to  the  attention  of  students  of  political 
economy  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  documents  on  prices 
and  values  I  have  ever  met  wdth.  It  will  be  found  in  Vol. 
LXXVIII  of  the  Puisaye  Papers  in  the  British  Museum 
(MSS.  Addit.  8049). 

These  letters  throw  some  light  on  Bertrand's  biography  dur- 
ing the  long  years  of  his  exile.  He  lived  in  a  house  of  his 
own,  which  he  called  Bertrand's  Cottage,  at  Feltham  Hill  near 
Staines;  from  the  year  1808  (and  probably  earlier)  to  April  or 
Ma}',  1814,  when  he  sold  "  Bertrand's  Cottage  "  and  returned 
to  France.  In  his  Memoirs  referring  to  the  earlier  part 
of  the  year  1791,  Bertrand  writes:  "From  this  time  I 
confined  myself  to  my  own  family  and  to  the  society  of  a 
few  friends,  only  occupying  myself  in  arranging  my  moderate 
fortune  in  such  a  manner  as  would  enable  me  to  leave  the 
Kingdom  when  I  could  no  longer  remain  in  it  in  safety." 

The  allusion  to  his  family  refers  mainly  to  his  wife,  the 
daughter  of  a  Monsieur  Vernier. 

Madame  Bertrand  did  not  accompany  her  husband  in  his 

flight,  after  wliich  she  and  her  father  were  imprisoned  on  the 

charge   of   conniving  at  his  escape.     On  the   11th   and   loth 

Februar}',  1793,  Bertrand  wrote  to  the  President  of  the  Con- 

VoL.  1—2 


18  EDITOR'S  INTEODUCTION. 

vention  to  exculpate  his  wife  and  father-in-law  from  this 
charge.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  can  find  nothing  more 
about  either  M.  Vernier  or  Madame  Bertrand.  Moreover 
Bertrand  speaks  of  his  "  mother,  brothers,  sisters,  wife  and 
children,  all  of  whom  remained  in  France  and  were  shut 
up  in  different  prisons  during  the  dreadful  tyranny  of 
Eobespierre."  It  may  be  presumed  that  both  were  released, 
since  their  names  do  not  appear  in  any  of  the  lists  of  those 
who  were  tried  before  the  Eevolutionary  Tribunal.  In 
Bertrand's  correspondence,  I  find  no  reference  to  his  wife  or 
children,  from  which  I  am  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
did  not  follow  him  to  England. 

Other  members  of  his  family,  mentioned  in  these  Memoirs, 
are  his  father,  who  died  at  Toulouse  in  September,  1T92,  and 
his  younger  brothers,  one  of  whom  was  a  Knight  of  Malta 
and  the  other  a  Priest.  How  far  Bertrand  succeeded  in  trans- 
ferring his  "  moderate  fortune  "  to  England,  it  is  impossible 
to  say.  The  fact  that  he  possessed  £2,000  in  the  year  1806 
is  shown  by  the  case  of  the  Marquis  de  Chamboras,  but  whether 
this  represented  the  whole,  or  a  portion,  of  the  property  which 
he  transferred  to  England  before  his  flight,  or  brought  with 
him,  I  cannot  tell.  It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  the 
entire  sum  was  consumed  by  Chamboras  and  that  he  recovered 
none  of  it.  He  drew,  so  far  as  I  can  discover,  no  pension  from 
the  British  Government.  Once  or  twice  in  the  course  of  these 
letters,  he  mentions  his  own  impecunious  condition,  but  always 
in  a  good-humoured  and  light-hearted  vein.  His  poverty 
must  have  been  of  the  respectable  order,  since  I  gather  from 
many  allusions  that  he  enjoyed  an  income,  derived  either  from 
his  private  means  or  from  his  profits  as  a  wine-merchant, 
sufficient  to  enable  him  to  entertain  his  friends,  cultivate  his 
garden,  and  buy  the  books  which  he  required  for  the  literary 
studies  which  formed  the  serious  occupation  of  his  life. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  19 

In  the  bibliographical  note  at  the  close  of  the  Introduction 
will  be  found  a  list  of  the  books  and  pamphlets  which  Ber- 
trand  produced  during  these  years.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
they  did  something  to  ward  off  the  "  sordid  misery  of  pecuniary 
embarrassment "  from  which  so  many  of  the  fimigres^  and 
possibly  Bert  rand  himself,  suffered. 

On  his  return  to  France  he  is  said  to  have  been  coldly  re- 
ceived by  Louis  XVIII.  and  his  Court. 

If  this  is  so,  and  it  rests  on  rumour  only,  it  may  have 
been  due  to  the  support  which  he  gave  to  Count  Puisaye  which 
may  have  given  offence  to  the  King  who  held  Puisaye's  ad- 
versary, the  Duke  d'Avary,  in  high  esteem,  during  his  lifetime 
and  after  his  death  in  1811.  In  1814,  1815,  and  1816, 
Bertrand  vainly  endeavoured  to  recover  for  himself:  First,  a 
renewal  of  the  pension  of  13,0Q0  francs  which  had  been 
granted  to  him  when  he  resigned  the  post  of  Intendant  of 
Brittany;  second,  the  retiring  pension  to  which  Ministers  of 
States  were  entitled,  and  third,  the  repayment  of  a  sum  of 
600,000  francs  which  he  claimed  to  have  advanced  to  Louis 
XVI. 

I  have  unfortunately  no  evidence  as  to  whether  he  succeeded 
in  obtaining  any  of  these  sums,  nor  have  I  been  able  to  dis- 
cover any  details  of  his  later  days,  beyond  the  fact  that  he 
died,  at  the  age  of  7-1,  on  the  19th  October  1818.  His  char- 
acter reveals  itself  so  clearly  in  his  own  autobiography  that 
there  is  no  need  to  dwell  upon  it  here. 

He  was  unquestionably  a  strong,  resolute,  determined  man, 
honest,  straightforward  and  upright,  and  perfectly  ready  to 
go  all  lengths  in  support  of  his  convictions  or  his  own  cause. 
It  is  clear  that  he  had  the  defects  of  his  qualities.  He  was 
irascible,  prejudiced  and  possibly  not  over-scrupulous  in 
his  dealings  with  his  enemies.  He  was  remarkable  as  being 
the  only  Minister,  appointed  after  the  King  had  signed  the 


20  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

Constitution,  who  was  neither  a  Constitutionalist  nor  a 
Girondist.  He  was  distinctly  superior  in  intellect  and  in 
courage  to  most  of  his  colleagues,  perhaps  to  all  of  them  except 
Dumouriez  and  Xarbonne.  It  might  be  said  that  had  he  not 
been  too  good  a  Eoyalist  he  would  have  followed  the  example  of 
the  larger  number  of  his  colleagues  in  returning  to  France  dur 
ing  the  consulate  and  taking  ofhce  under  Napoleon.  He  was,  so 
far  as  we  can  judge,  exactly  the  sort  of  man  who  would  have 
gained  Xapoleon's  confidence  and  risen  to  greatness.  He 
would  tlien  have  been  known  to  us  as  one  of  that  remarkable 
body  who  gave  to  France  the  Code  Civile,  restored  the  finances 
and  administered  her  conquests  throughout  Europe.  As  it 
is,  after  blazing  into  meteoric  flame  for  a  few  months  as  one 
of  the  last  defenders  of  a  lost  cause,  he  disappears  into  the 
night  of  obscurity  and  exile. 

Bertrand  de  Moleville's  Memoirs  possess  a  twofold  interest 
and  value.  First,  they  give  us  the  most  accurate  and  living 
portrait  extant  of  Louis  XVI.  during  the  last  year  of  his 
so-called  "  Eeign,"  a  j)ortrait  which  has  never  been  surpassed 
and  remains  as  the  most  authentic  source  on  which  wo  can 
draw  for  our  knowledge  of  his  actual  character  and  manner 
of  thought  and  action.  Secondly,  they  supply  us  with  a  vivid 
and  obviously  veracious  account  of  the  history  of  the  Con- 
stitutional Monarchy  during  the  short  period  of  its  existence, 
and  make  clear  to  us  the  cause  and  method  of  its  fall. 

Take  first  the  character  of  Louis  XYI.  Xo  one  can 
study  the  life  of  this  unfortunate  King  without  being  struck 
by  the  curious  resemblance  in  outward  circumstances,  Ijctwoen 
himself  and  Charles  I.  Botli  inherited  from  a  predecessor  a 
throne  shaken  by  omens  of  change  and  revolution.  Boih  wore 
men  of  high  moral  character,  earnestly  desiring  to  do  their 
duty  by  the  people  and  ready  "  to  scorn  delights  and  live 
laborious   days,"   on   their   behalf.     Both   entertained   strong 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  2! 

theological  convictions  and  in  each  case  the  tenacity  with 
which  they  clung  to  their  convictions  was  among  the  chief 
causes  of  their  ruin ;  since  Charles  owed  his  downfall  rather  to 
his  refusal  to  abandon  Episcopacy  and  the  Prayer-Book  than 
to  any  other  single  cause,  and  Louis  to  his  refusal  to  sanction 
the  decrees  banishing  and  otherwise  tormenting  the  orthodox 
clergy.  Both  married  an  unpopular  wife,  and  in  each  case 
the  husband  was  justly  accused  of  being  strongly  and  disas- 
trously influenced  by  the  sterner  counsels  of  the  wife. 

The  circumstances  and  incidents  which  befell  each  during 
the  revolutionary  period  of  the  reign  were  curiously  similar. 

To  give  a  few  only  of  the  more  obvious  of  these, —  The 
meeting  of  the  Long  Parliament  and  of  the  iSTational  As- 
sembly, both  mainly  due  to  the  financial  embarrassments  of 
the  two  Sovereigns.  The  attempt  to  seize  the  five  members 
and  the  Eoyal  Seance  of  the  28th  May  1789.  The  flight 
of  Charles  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  and  that  of  Louis  XVI.  to 
Yarennes.  The  trial  of  Charles  and  of  Louis,  in  either  case 
by  a  Court  which  held  no  legal  jurisdiction  over  its  Sovereign. 
Each  moreover  was  charged  with  treason  to  the  Nation  by 
calling  in  the  assistance  of  the  foreigners  and  rebels  to  make 
war  against  their  own  countrymen.  The  main  charge  against 
Charles  being  that  of  bringing  the  Irish  Eebols  to  England 
and  inciting  the  French  to  make  war  on  his  behalf;  that 
against  Louis  of  secret  correspondence  inviting  the  Emigres 
and  the  coalesced  Powers  to  invade  France.  Finally  each  was 
executed  and  each  showed  the  same  manly  resignation  and 
dignity  during  the  supreme  hour  of  his  death. 

The  famous  lines  on  the  death  of  Charles 

"  He  nothing  common  did  or  mean 
Upon  that  memorable  scene 
But  with  his  keener  eye 
The  axe's  edge  did  try, 


22  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

Nor  called  the  Gods  with  vulgar  spite 
To  vindicate  his  helpless  right 
But  bowed  his  comely  head 
Down  as  upon  a  bed/' 

might  be  applied  with  almost  equal  truth  to  Louis  XVI.  save 
for  the  one  word  "  comely/'  which  exactly  expresses  the  ap- 
pearance of  Charles  I.  but  is  in  no  sense  of  the  word  appli- 
cable to  Louis  XYL     All  these  similarities,  which  might  be 
almost  indefinitely  extended,  and  which  appear  at  first  sight 
singularly  close  analogies,  cease  to  hold  good  when  we  con- 
sider the  deep  underlying  divergencies  between  the  character 
and  the  actions  of  the  two  Sovereigns.     Charles  I.  was  pos- 
sessed by  a  profound  conviction  of  the  justice  of  his  own 
cause.     He  believed  as  firmly  in  his  divine  right  to  rule,  as 
he  did  in  any  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
and  he  held  that  his  subjects  in  taking  arms  against  their 
King  were  not  merely  guilty  of  a  political  crime  but  were 
placing  themselves  in  open  rebellion  against  the  Divine  Law. 
His  last  words  on  the  scaffold,  "  For  the  people,  truly  I  desire 
their  liberty  and  freedom  as  much  as  any  one  whatsoever; 
but  I  must  tell  you  that  their  liberty  and  freedom  consists  in 
having  government  —  those  laws  by  which  their  lives  and  their 
goods  may  be  most  their  own.     It  is  not  their  having  a  share 
in  the  government;  that  is  nothing  appertaining  unto  them. 
A  subject  and  a  sovereign  are  clearly  different  things;  and 
therefore  until     .     .     .     you  put  the  people  in  that  liberty 
they  will   never  enjoy  themselves,"  represent  the  deep   con- 
viction and  guiding  motive  of  his  whole  life.     Hence  he  was 
not  merely  ready  for  action,  civil  or  military,  but  eager  to 
assert  and  to  prove  by  the  issue  of  war  that  he  was  the  lawful 
Sovereign  of  the  Realm  which  God  had  appointed  and  con- 
secrated him  to  govern.     Hence,  too,  the  sanguine  nature  of 
the  man.     He  never  lost  hope,  because  from  first  to  last  he 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  23 

never  doubted  that,  in  one  way  or  another,  God  would  protect 
his  own.  I  do  not  think  it  would  be  an  exaggeration  to  assert 
that  up  to  the  moment  of  his  death,  there  lingered  in  the 
mind  of  Charles  I.  constant  hope  of  some  manifestation,  nat- 
ural or  supernatural,  in  his  favour. 

He  possessed,  in  a  high  degree,  the  power  of  attracting 
respect,  s}Tnpathy  and  devotion.  His  personal  appearance  was 
as  royal  as  it  was  handsome;  his  manner,  full  of  dignity  and, 
when  he  wished  it  to  be  so,  of  sweetness;  his  artistic  tastes; 
his  occasional  utterances  of  genuine  humour ;  all  these  qualities 
attracted  to  him  the  hearts  of  his  followers  and  sometimes  of 
his  open  enemies.  The  sentiment  expressed  in  Lovelace's 
lines :  "  The  sweetness,  mercy,  majesty,  And  glories  of  my 
King,  'WTien  I  shall  voice  aloud  how  good  He  is,  how  great 
should  be,"  or  the  almost  frantic  outburst  of  sorrow  which 
broke  from  Montrose  when  he  heard  of  Charles'  death,  were 
shared  by  vast  numbers  of  their  countrymen.  One  of  the 
most  curious  points  about  the  great  collection  of  Civil  War 
Pamphlets  in  the  British  Museum  is  the  number  and  the 
quality  of  the  eulogies,  which  in  spite  of  all  the  laws  which 
fettered  the  press,  were  published  during  the  years  which  fol- 
lowed Charles'  execution.  Louis  XVI.  was  the  exact  opposite 
of  all  this. 

I  have,  in  the  general  Introduction  of  this  series,  alluded  to 
Dumont's  shrewd  illustration  of  the  self-confidence  of  the 
Frenchman :  "  I  often  used  to  think  that  if  a  hundred  per- 
sons indiscriminately  were  stopped  in  the  streets  of  London, 
and  the  same  number  in  the  streets  of  Paris  and  a  proposal 
made  to  each  individual  to  undertake  the  government  of  his 
country,  ninety-nine  would  accept  the  offer  at  Paris  and  ninety- 
nine  would  refuse  it  in  London."  Unhappily  for  himself  and 
for  his  country,  Louis  XVI.  was  the  one  Frenchman  in  a 
hundred  who  would  have  refused.     On  bidding  farewell  to 


^4  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

Malesherbes  in  May,  1776,  he  said,  "I  only  wish  that  I  too 
could  lay  down  my  office,"  and  similar  utterances  can  be 
found  all  through  his  reign. 

He  never  showed,  and  apparently  never  felt,  the  smallest 
pride  or  even  belief  in  his  own  position  as  King  of  France. 
He  was  ready  at  all  times  to  abjure  the  dignity  and  authority 
which  he  had  inlierited  from  a  long  line  of  ancestors  if  he 
thought  that  by  doing  so  he  could  benefit  his  people.     From 
the  earliest  days  of  his  reign  his  mind  was  as  much  set  on 
reform  as  was  that  of  his  brother-in-law  the  Emperor  Joseph, 
but  he  was  incapable  of  appreciating  the  Emperor's  words, 
"  After  all,  my  business  in  life  is  to  be  a  King."     Few  sov- 
ereigns or  statesmen  have  ever  borne  through  life  so  genuine 
a  love  of  the  People  or  so  ardent  a  longing  for  their  wel- 
fare; yet  the  word  represented  to  him  much  more  nearly  the 
"  Sovereign  People "  of  the   Social   Contract  than  the  sub- 
jects who  were  entrusted  to  him  to  govern.     Closely  akin  to 
this  was  the  one  determination  to  which  he  consistently  ad- 
hered, that  no  provocation  should  draw  him  into  a  civil  war 
or  cause  him  to  order  the  blood  of  his  people  to  be  shed.     In 
all  other  respects  his  mind  was  in  a  state  of  perpetual  un- 
certainty and  change.     Monsieur   (afterwards  Louis  XVIII.) 
said  to  Mirabeau,  "  To  try  to  hold  my  brother  steadfast  to  any 
course  of  action  is  like  trying  to  keep  a  set  of  oiled  billiard 
balls  together."     He  never  gave  his  undivided  confidence  to 
anyone.     He  listened  patiently  to  each  adviser  in  turn,  but  the 
impression  made  upon  him,  however  strong  at  the  moment, 
was  effaced  by  the  next  counsellor.     "  It  is  only  I  and  Turgot 
who  love  the  people  "  he  said,  yet  he  was  easily  persuaded  to 
dismiss  Turgot,   Calonne,   Malesherbes  and  a  host  of  others, 
ending  with  the  last  two  Ministers  who  offered  him  a  chance 
of  salvation,  Xarbonne  and  Dumouriez.     Consequently  none 
of  his  advisers  or  Ministers  found  it  possible  to  have  any  true 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  25 

confidence  in  him,  however  strong  the  devotion  or  pity  for 
their  unfortunate  master  may  have  been.  At  the  same  time 
he  was  of  a  singularly  upright,  truth-loving  nature,  keenly 
desirous  to  be  absolutely  honest  in  public  and  in  private  life 
and  bitterly  repentant  when,  following  the  advice  of  others, 
he  erred  from  the  almost  impossible  path  of  political  integrity 
during  the  Eevolution. 

The  Court  of  Versailles  during  the  earlier  years  of  the 
reign  of  Louis  XVI.  formed  the  most  polished,  witty  and  bril- 
liant circle  the  civilised  world  has  ever  known.  It  was  here 
that  the  art  of  living  agreeably  to  oneself  and  to  others  had 
attained  its  highest  perfection.  Most  of  its  members  were, 
or  affected  to  be,  of  advanced  opinions.  Liberation  of  thought 
and  action  were  pretty  nearly  universal.  It  was  the  age  of 
sentiment  and  sophistry,  the  age  when  "  even  vice  itself  lost 
half  its  evil  by  losing  all  its  grossness." 

Montesquieu  was  the  prophet  of  the  serious  and  the  elderly, 
Voltaire,  d'Alembert  and  Eousseau  the  guides  and  the  phi- 
losophers of  the  young  and  light-hearted;  but  all  alike  had 
acquired  the  art  of  clothing  the  crudest  or  most  revolutionary 
propositions  in  polished  epigram,  light  repartee  or  graceful 
allusion.  They  knew  exactly  how  to  "hint  a  fault,  or  hesi- 
tate  dislike  "  with  the  old  system  or  the  old  religion  in  terms 
so  graceful  and  so  airy  that  even  a  Bishop  or  a  Jansenist 
Magistrate  was  moved  rather  to  a  smile  than  to  a  rebuke. 
Over  this  brilliant  Court  presided  Louis  XVI.  undistinguished 
almost  to  ugliness  in  face  and  figure,  shy,  awkward  and 
either  silent  or  plain-spoken  to  a  fault.  Xor  did  he  ever 
learn  to  express  the  sentiments  of  kindness  and  gratitude 
which  he  often  felt  at  heart. 

On  every  critical  occasion,  when  a  few  vigorous,  inspiring 
words  might  have  turned  defeat  into  victory  he  was  utterly 
incapable  of  saying  them. 


26  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

Even  on  that  supreme  day  the  10th  August  1T92,  when  the 
King,  the  Queen  and  their  family  passed  through  the  ranks 
of  the  National  Guard,  Louis  only  muttered  a  few  inarticulate 
words.  In  despair  the  Queen  said  to  Madame  Campan  on 
their  return,  "  The  King  has  shown  no  energy.  It  has  done 
more  harm  than  good."  In  fact,  his  presence  at  a  critical 
moment  never  failed  to  depress  and  dishearten  his  friends 
and  to  give  fresh  courage  to  his  enemies.  This  may,  in  part, 
have  been  the  result  of  his  profound  sense  of  his  own  deficien- 
cies, and  of  his  conviction  that  fate  was  against  him.  When 
he  was  leaving  Versailles  in  October,  1789,  he  was  seen  to 
look  earnestly  at  a  picture  of  Charles  I.  and  was  heard  to 
Bay  to  himself,  "  Yes,  my  fate  will  be  the  same  as  his." 

Many  of  his  conversations  with  Bertrand  given  in  these 
volumes  are  darkened  by  the  same  hopeless  note,  especially  that 
on  the  projects  of  escape,  in  which  the  King  says  — "  There 
may  be  a  possibility  of  my  escape, —  but  there  are  many  chances 
against  it.  I  am  an  unlucky  man;"  no  casual  utterance  made 
in  a  fit  of  depression,  but  the  expression  of  a  profound  con- 
viction. Both  contemporaries  and  historians  of  later  years  are 
agreed  on  Louis  XVI.'s  infirmity  of  purpose,  his  want  of 
energy,  his  supine  submission  to  fate,  and  his  total  incapacity 
to  "  ride  on  the  thunder  and  subdue  the  storm "  of  the 
devolution.  They  are  equally  agreed  on  his  genuine  goodness, 
kindness  and  truthfulness  and  on  the  passive  courage  with 
which  he  endured  indignities  and  sufferings  which  few  men 
have  ever  been  called  upon  to  undergo. 

Maleshcrbes'  opinion  is  well  worthy  of  note  — "  This 
extreme  sensibility,  so  aimiable  in  private  life  and  in  times 
of  tranquillity,  often  becomes  in  times  of  revolution  more 
fatal  to  a  King  than  certain  vices  would  have  been."  I  think 
that  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Bertrand  de  Moleville  is  per- 
fectly justified  in  asserting  "  that  his  natural  capacity  was 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  27 

very  far  above  mediocrity  and  that  had  it  been  cultivated  by 
an  education  better  calculated  to  fit  him  for  his  future  rank 
in  life,  he  would  take  a  place  amongst  the  best  and  ablest  of 
our  Kings."  Xo  testimony  to  Louis'  intelligence  is  so  strong 
as  the  evidence  afforded  by  his  last  Will,  an  unquestionably 
genuine  document,  written  by  himself  alone  without  the  aid 
or  advice  of  any  human  being.  No  one  can  read  this  Will, 
the  text  of  which  will  be  found  in  Vol.  II.,  p.  322,  without  ob- 
serving with  what  clearness  and  power  of  expression  it  is  drawn 
up.  Its  literary  merit  is  somewhat  lost  in  the  translation, 
but  even  as  it  reads  in  English,  it  is  obviously  the  work  of  a 
man  capable  of  feeling  generous  and  noble  thoughts  and  ex- 
pressing them  in  simple  and  dignified  language. 

No  words  can  better  state  the  case  for  Louis  than  the  elo- 
quent, yet  sober  and  truthful  peroration  of  Eaymond  de  Seze, 
the  youngest  of  the  King's  three  advocates, — "  Louis  mounted 
the  throne  at  the  age  of  twenty  and  even  at  that  early  age  he 
set  an  example  of  an  irreproachable  life.  He  was  governed 
by  no  weak  or  corrupt  passions.  He  was  economical,  just,  and 
impartial.  From  the  first  day  of  his  reign,  he  proved  him- 
self to  be  the  benefactor  of  his  country.  The  people  desired 
the  removal  of  a  burdensome  tax.  He  removed  it.  They 
wished  for  the  abolition  of  serfdom.  He  abolished  it  through- 
out his  own  domain.  They  prayed  for  a  reform  in  the 
Criminal  law.  He  reformed  it.  They  demanded  that  thou- 
sands of  Frenchmen,  whom  the  vigour  of  our  legal  system  had 
excluded  from  their  political  rights,  should  enjoy  them.  He 
conceded  the  rights.  They  longed  for  liberty.  He  gave  it; 
he  even  anticipated  their  wishes. 

"  Yet  it  is  this  same  people  which  now  demands  his  pun- 
ishment. I  add  no  more.  I  stand  before  the  Tribunal  of 
History. 

"  Eemember   that   your   decision   will   be   judged   by   that 


2g  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

Tribunal  and  that  its  decision  -will  last  through  all  ages." 

The  name  of  Queen  Marie  Antoinette  appears  only  once  or 
twice  in  these  pages.  Her  history  may  be  studied  in  the 
Memoirs  of  Madame  Campan,  a  work  of  the  highest  value  and 
interest,  which  is  issued  as  one  of  the  present  series,  I  pro- 
pose to  say  only  a  few  words  on  the  position  which  she  held 
and  the  influence  which  she  exercised  during  the  one  year, 
1791-1792,  covered  by  the  present  volume. 

I  do  not  look  upon  Marie  Antoinette  as  possessing  a  great 
or  commanding  character.  Of  all  the  high  qualities,  tact, 
judgment,  the  power  of  influencing  and  governing  men,  which 
had  raised  her  mother,  Maria  Theresa,  to  the  high  position 
which  she  held  among  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  Marie  An- 
toinette inherited  only  one, —  courage.  Iler  nature  was  essen- 
tially feminine.  She  loved  her  family  and  her  friends  and 
she  hated  her  enemies,  and  those  whom  she  supposed  to  be  so. 
She  had  sufl'ered  and  sufTered  terribly  from  the  devolution. 

"^Miatever  it  had  done  for  others,  to  her  it  had  brought 
nothing  but  pain,  misery  and  long  imprisonment.  She  could 
not  even  breathe  the  air  at  her  own  windows  without  en- 
countering such  unendurable  insults  as  those  she  describes  in 
speaking  to  Dumourioz.     See  Introduction,  page  55. 

Attaclied  as  she  was  to  her  husband,  she  could  not  fail  to 
understand  the  weakness  and  apathy  of  his  character.  On 
one  occasion  she  said,  "  The  King  wants  energy ;  he  has  great 
courage  but  it  is  all  passive.  This  want  of  self-confidence  is 
the  result  of  his  bad  education.  He  has  a  perfect  terror  of 
commanding  and  he  dreads  making  a  speech.  He  was  treated 
like  a  mere  child,  and  an  unhappy  child,  by  Louis  XY.  and 
liis  people,  until  he  was  tvrenty-one.  This  is  what  has  made 
him  so  shy.  Situated  as  we  are,  a  few  spirited  words  to  tlie 
respectable  people  of  Paris,  who  are  really  attached  to  him, 
would  increase   our   strength  a  hundredfold;  but  he  cannot 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  29 

nerve  himself  to  say  them.  If  only  I  could  act  for  myself, 
how  gladly  I  would  mount  a  horse.  But  if  I  did,  it  would 
only  be  to  furnish  our  enemies  with  fresh  arms  against  us. 
The  cry  against  the  Austrian  woman  would  spread  all  over 
Erance  and  I  should  only  detract  still  further  from  the  dignity 
of  the  King.  A  Queen,  if  she  is  not  regent,  must  remain 
silent  and  inactive.  She  has  nothing  to  do  but  prepare  for 
death." 

A  year  earlier,  before  the  flight  to  Varennes  which  doubled 
her  sufferings  and  her  forebodings,  Burke  had  written, — "  I 
hear  and  I  rejoice  to  hear  that  this  great  lady  bears  the  im- 
prisonment of  her  husband,  and  her  own  captivity,  and  the 
exile  of  her  friends,  and  the  whole  weight  of  her  accumu- 
lated wrongs,  with  a  serene  patience;  in  a  manner  fitted  to 
her  rank  and  race,  and  becoming  the  offspring  of  a  sovereign 
distinguished  for  her  piety  and  her  courage."  This  eulogy 
is  thoroughly  deserved.  Her  courage  was  lofty,  but  can  it 
be  considered  wonderful  or  even  blameworthy  if  such  suffer- 
ings as  she  had  undergone  had  warped  her  judgment  and 
made  her  see  in  the  Constitutionalists  and  especially  in  those 
who  were  of  the  Noblesse,  who  had  as  she  held,  deserted  their 
order  to  pander  to  the  mob,  her  bitterest  enemies  ? 

In  this  hatred  she  was,  as  I  hope  to  show  presently,  abso- 
lutely in  the  wrong,  but  who  can  say  that  it  was  not  natural 
that  she  should  feel  as  she  did. 

These  Memoirs,  as  I  have  already  said,  not  only  contain 
the  best  account  we  possess  of  the  last  year  of  Louis  XYI's 
reign,  but  give  us  a  most  valuable  history  of  the  short-lived 
Constitutional  Monarchy  which  came  into  existence  when 
Louis  XVI.  signed  the  Constitution,  14th  September  1791, 
and  ended  on  the  10th  August  1792.  There  are  many 
Memoirs  (the  best  being  tliose  of  Madame  Eoland)  written 
from  the  other,  the  attacking  side,  which  make  us  thoroughly 


30  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

acquainted  with  the  proceedings  of  the  Legislative  Assembly, 
the  rise  of  the  Girondist  party  and  the  steps  which  preceded 
and  followed  the  downfall  of  the  Monarchy,  but  there  is  no 
other  source  of  information  as  to  the  defence  which  the  King 
and  his  Ministers  vainly  endeavoured  to  oppose  to  the  growing 
forces  of  Kepublicanism,  The  question  must  occur  to  every 
student  of  the  Eevolution  as  he  studies  the  history  of  the  years 
1791-1792;  why  did  the  Constitution  of  1791  fail  so  utterly 
and  so  swiftly?  why  did  the  Constitutional  Monarchy,  sup- 
ported as  it  undoubtedly  was  by  the  great  mass  of  respectable, 
well-to-do  citizens  of  Paris  and  peasant-proprietors  of  the  prov- 
inces, succumb  with  scarcely  an  effort  to  the  assaults  of  the 
Jacobins  and  Brissotins?  The  answers  to  these  questions  will 
be  found,  very  clearly  set  forth  in  these  volumes. 

I  do  not  design  to  give  here  any  sketch,  however  slight,  of 
the  course  of  events  during  the  Revolution.  I  propose  merely 
to  offer  a  few  brief  notes  on  the  position  of  the  King  and  his 
Ministers,  and  on  their  relations  with  the  Legislative  x\ssem- 
bly,  October  1791  to  10  August  1792,  to  serve  as  a  commentary 
on  the  history  of  this  eventful  year,  as  given  in  these  volumes. 

Thus,  in  order  to  make  it  clearly  understood  why  Louis 
XVI.  found  himself  forced  to  sign  the  Constitution  without 
a  word  of  amendment,  it  is  desirable  to  explain  what  were  the 
causes  and  the  results  of  the  "  accursed  journey  "  to  Varennes. 
I  quote  the  expression  which  the  King,  with  unwonted  energy 
of  language,  used  in  speaking  to  Bertrand  of  that  untoward 
event.  It  may  be  truly  said  that  the  power  of  the  Monarchy 
came  to  an  end  on  the  23d  June  1789,  after  the  Eoyal  Seance 
described  in  Chapter  "V.  of  these  ]\Iemoirs.  On  that  memo- 
rable day  Louis  XVI.,  after  announcing  that  if  the  States-Gen- 
eral failed  him  he  alone  would  ensure  the  happiness  of  his 
People,  positively  commanded  the  three  Orders  to  return,  each 
to  the  Chamber  allotted  to  it.     The  Tliird  Order  deliberately 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  31 

disobeyed  the  royal  command.  Mirabeau's  words  to  the  High 
Chamberlain  are  so  well  known  as  hardly  to  bear  repetition: 
"  If  you  have  orders  to  make  us  leave  the  place  you  must  use 
force,  for  we  will  not  stir  from  our  seats  except  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet/' 

No  force  was  used ;  the  King  informed  of  the  answer,  which 
was  of  course  the  announcement  of  an  open  rebellion,  replied 
that  if  the  Members  of  the  Third  Order  would  not  quit  the 
hall,  there  was  no  course  but  to  leave  them  there,  the  feeblest 
reply  of  any  ruler  at  any  period,  on  record. 

From  that  day  Louis  XVI.,  though  he  may  still  be  held 
after  a  fashion  to  reign,  had  certainly  ceased  to  govern.  Next 
followed  the  days  of  October,  when  the  King  and  royal  fam- 
ily were  carried  in  brutal  triumph  to  the  Tuileries.  In  1790 
tlie  royal  family,  without  opposition,  spent  the  Easter  fort- 
night at  St.  Cloud.  On  the  22d  August  of  that  year  the 
King  most  unwillingly  signed  the  Decree  on  the  Civil  Consti- 
tution of  the  Clergy.  On  the  2d  April  1791,  Mirabeau  died. 
On  the  ISth  April  of  the  same  year,  being  the  Monday  before 
Easter,  the  King  and  royal  family  ordered  their  carriages  to 
be  prepared  to  take  them  for  the  second  time  to  St.  Cloud. 
Eumour,  which  for  once  was  true,  ran  through  Paris  that  the 
King's  object  in  spending  his  Easter  at  St.  Cloud,  was  to 
have  the  Easter  Mass  celebrated  by  a  priest  who  had  not  taken 
the  civic  oath.  Consequently  a  vast  mob  gathered  in  the  gar- 
dens of  the  Tuileries,  surrounded  the  carriages  in  which  the 
royal  family  were  seated,  and  cut  the  traces.  The  mobs  were 
joined  by  the  National  Guard  and  in  spite  of  the  urgent  ap- 
peals of  La  Fayette  to  the  Guard  and  of  Bailly,  Mayor  of  Paris, 
to  the  mob,  the  King,  the  Queen  and  the  other  members  of  the 
royal  family  after  remaining  four  terrible  hours  seated  in 
their  carriages  exposed  to  the  insults  and  indignities  of  the 
mob,  returned  to  the  palace,  which  they  now  knew  to  be  their 


32  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

prison.  It  was  this,  and  the  death  of  Mirabeau,  whom  Louis 
recognised  as  the  one  statesman  who  could  restore  to  him  his 
freedom,  which  induced  the  King  to  risk  the  chance  of  escap- 
ing from  Paris. 

The  idea  was  by  no  means  a  new  one.  In  July,  1T89,  he 
had  meditated  a  retreat  to  Fontainebleau ;  De  Breteuil  had 
urged  him  to  take  refuge  at  Metz,  and  Mirabeau  had  repeatedly 
advised  him  to  retreat  to  Lyons  or  some  other  town  in  the  in- 
terior of  France.  At  the  same  time,  Mirabeau  strongly  and 
wisely  objected  to  any  project  of  a  flight  towards  the  frontier, 
lest  it  should  be  said  that  the  King  meditated  an  escape  from 
France  or  intended  to  join  a  foreign  army.  All  these  coun- 
sels the  King  had  rejected,  partly  from  his  native  indecision 
and  partly  from  the  dread,  which  haunted  him  continually, 
of  causing  a  civil  war.  The  futile  attempt  v>'liich  we  know 
as  the  "  flight  to  Yarennes "  was  planned  by  three  persons, 
Count  Axel  Fersen,  the  devoted  and  heroic  friend  of  Marie 
Antoinette;  the  Marquis  de  Bouille,  famous  for  the  courage 
and  tact  with  which  he  had  suppressed  the  mutiny  of  the  z\rmy 
at  Xancy,  and  the  Baron  de  Breteuil,  who  was  now  an  emigre 
residing  at  Brussels.  The  King  stipulated  that  he  should  not 
leave  France  unless  he  was  forced  to  do  so,  and  it  was  there- 
fore determined  that  the  objective  of  his  retreat  should  be 
Montmedy,  a  small  town  situated  about  170  miles  northeast 
of  Paris  and  about  30  miles  from  Sedan,  It  was  within 
easy  reach  of  the  French  frontiers,  and  formed  part  of  the 
district  in  which  the  Army  of  the  Meuse,  commanded  by  the 
Marquis  de  Bouille,  was  stationed.  Bouille's  courage  and  fidel- 
ity were  beyond  question,  and  at  Montmedy  itself  he  had  three 
regiments  of  cavalry  which  were  supposed  to  be  the  least  mu- 
tinous in  the  French  Army. 

Few  episodes  of  history  have  been  tlie  subject  of  so  much 
controversy  as  the  flight  to  Yarennes.     The  account  given  in 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  33 

these  Memoirs  by  the  principle  actor  in  the  drama  was  after 
the  Eestoration  combated  by  the  Duke  de  Choiseul  and  the 
Baron  de  Goguelat. 

In  fact  there  is  not  a  single  incident  of  the  flight  which 
has  not  been  keenly  contested  and  differently  stated  both  by 
contemporaries  and  by  subsequent  writers.  There  is  a  double 
interest  attaching  to  the  whole  story.  First,  the  extraordinary 
series  of  small  accidents  and  petty  mistakes  and  mischances 
which  occurred  at  every  stage  of  the  journey,  each  of  which 
contributed  to  its  final  breakdown  at  a  place  within  easy  reach 
of  the  King's  goal,  and  when  apparently  all  danger  was  at  an 
end.  Secondly,  the  fact  that  no  episode  in  history  affords  so 
many  instances  of  the  difficulty  of  arriving  at  the  exact  truth 
of  an  historical  event.  The  conclusion  which  has  now  been 
universally  adopted  is  that  two  only  of  the  persons  connected 
with  the  attempt  did  their  duty  without  miscalculation  and 
without  flinching.  Fersen,  who  succeeded  in  the  most  diffi- 
cult part  of  the  whole  adventure  by  getting  the  royal  family 
safely  out  of  Paris,  and  Bouille,  whose  failure  to  rescue  them 
was  due  to  no  fault  of  his  own  but  solely  to  the  mistakes  of  his 
subordinates. 

All  the  other  officers  either  lost  their  heads  or  fell  into  a 
series  of  blunders  and  misfortunes  so  extraordinary  as  to 
seem  almost  supernatural.  The  fatality  which  marred  and 
haunted  every  action  of  Louis  XVI.  reached  its  cul- 
mination point  at  Varennes.  Even  in  the  town  itself,  a  few 
bold  words  and  an  assumption  of  something  resembling  the 
dignity  of  a  Sovereign  might  have  saved  the  King  and  his 
family.  The  Duchess  d'Angouleme  in  her  account  of  the 
journey  says,  "  We  then  alighted  and  in  crossing  the  street  six 
mounted  dragoons  pressed  us,  but  unfortunately  they  had  no 
officer  with  them.  If  there  had  been,  six  resolute  men  would 
have  intimidated  them  all,  and  might  have  saved  the  King." 
Vol.  1—3 


34  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

There  were  sixty  dragoons  within  a  stone's  throw.  Later  on, 
the  King  when  asked  to  give  his  orders,  could  find  nothing 
better  to  say  than  the  miserable  words  "  I  am  a  prisoner.  I 
can  give  no  orders,"  It  is  very  possible,  of  course,  that  in 
the  state  of  chronic  mutiny  of  the  Army  at  this  period,  even 
Bouille  himself  might  have  found  it  impossible  to  guard  the 
King  and  his  family  in  safety,  in  which  case  he  must  have 
made  his  way  across  the  frontier  into  the  Austrian  Nether- 
lands. 

If  so,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the  disappearance  of 
Louis  XVI.  from  France  would  not  have  been  the  best  pos- 
sible solution  of  an  otherwise  insoluble  problem.  In  any  case 
no  greater  misfortune  is  imaginable  than  his  wretched  action, 
with  all  its  long  train  of  miserable  and  disastrous  results. 

At  a  later  period  the  King  declared  that  had  he  been  alone 
he  would  have  risked  all;  he  could  not  of  course  foresee  the 
future,  nor  could  he  know  that  no  greater  misfortune  could 
have  befallen  his  family  or  himself  than  to  be  dragged  back 
to  Paris,  where  insult,  misfortune,  misery  and  death  awaited 
himself,  his  wife,  his  sister  and  his  son,  and  long  imprisonment 
his  daughter,  the  sole  survivor  of  his  house. 

The  flight  to  Varennes  and  the  capture  of  Louis  XVI.  form 
a  crisis  in  the  history  of  France  which  opened  a  new  era  of 
the  Eevolution.  Pasquier,  who  was  present  in  Paris  at  the 
time,  gives  a  graphic  picture  of  the  effect  produced  by  the  news 
when  it  was  announced.  "  At  first,"  he  says,  "  no  one  doubted 
of  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  The  King  had  twelve  hours' 
start,  and  it  was  to  be  presumed  that  every  precaution  had 
been  taken  to  secure  his  safety  whether,  as  most  people  sup- 
posed, he  intended  to  cross  the  frontier,  or  whether  he  de- 
signed to  take  up  his  residence  in  one  of  the  great  cities  of 
France. 

"  In  either  case  the  inhabitants  of  Paris  found  themselves  in 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  35 

a  highly  critical  position.  They  had  been  in  the  habit  of  con- 
sidering the  presence  of  the  King  in  their  midst  as  the  best 
possible  guarantee  for  their  own  security.  The  men  of  the 
Eevolution  especially  found  themselves  in  a  position  of  the 
greatest  possible  difficulty  and  knew  not  where  to  look  for  aid. 
The  Army  gave  them  the  gravest  inquietude.  It  needed  so 
little  to  bring  the  soldiers  back  to  loyalty.  When  they  saw 
the  King  in  their  midst,  the  odds  were  that  they  would  be- 
come royalists  again  and  no  one  could  say  how  far  royalism 
might  carry  them." 

This  state  of  agitation  did  not  last  long.  The  news  that 
the  King  had  been  found,  arrested  and  was  actually  being  car- 
ried back  to  Paris,  changed  the  mood  of  the  Assembly  from 
cold  terror  to  anger,  which  was  heated  red  hot  by  the  publica- 
tion of  the  King's  manifesto,  drawn  up  by  himself  on  the 
night  of  his  departure,  wherein  he  declared  that  all  the  de- 
crees of  the  Assembly  to  which  he  had  given  his  assent  were 
null  and  void  because  he  had  been  forced  to  sanction  them 
while  he  was  not  free  to  do  otherwise.  By  swift  degrees  fresh 
parties  were  formed  in  Paris  and  throughout  France.  The 
Jacobin  and  Cordeliers  clubs  thundered  for  the  King's  deposi- 
tion, while  the  respectable  classes,  the  lawyers,  tradesmen  and 
so  forth,  content  with  the  solid  gains  they  had  acquired,  and 
alarmed  at  the  virulence  of  the  clubs  and  patriotic  journals, 
were  in  favour  of  the  continuance  or  restriction  of  such  au- 
thority as  the  King  yet  possessed. 

The  Assembly  underwent  similar  changes.  Members  who 
had  hitherto  voted  for  radical  measures,  such  as  Dupont,  Bar- 
nave  and  the  Lameths,  joined  the  moderate  Constitutionalists, 
giving  them  a  decided  majority,  while  Robespierre,  Petion 
and  others  took  the  side  of  the  clubs.  The  Assembly,  on  the 
16th  July,  suspended  the  King  until  the  moment  when  he 
should  sign  the  Constitution;  when  his  prerogative,  his  consti- 


36  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

tutional  guard  and  his  civil  list  should  be  restored  to  him.  On 
the  next  morning  a  vast  crowd  flocked  to  the  Champ  de  Mars 
to  sign  a  petition  drawn  up  under  the  auspices  of  Danton, 
Robespierre,  Petion  and  Marat  in  favour  of  the  deposition  of 
Louis  XVI.  La  Fayette  and  the  Mayor  Bailly,  who  had 
thrown  in  their  lot  with  the  Constitutionalists,  proclaimed  the 
meeting  and  ordered  out  the  battalions  of  the  National  Guard 
on  whom  they  had  most  reliance.  The  result  was  what  is 
known  as  the  "  Massacre  of  the  Champ  de  Mars."  Some  three 
hundred  persons  were  killed  and  wounded  during  the  day,  a 
few  by  the  muskets  of  the  National  Guard,  the  greater  num- 
ber by  being  crushed  or  trampled  upon  in  the  flight  of  the 
mob.  The  immediate  result  was  the  victory  of  the  Constitu- 
tionalists; Danton,  Eobespierre  and  Marat  disappeared,  and 
Camille  Desmoulins  ceased  to  publish.  La  Fayette  was  warmly 
congratulated  by  the  Assembly.  But  from  this  moment  the 
division,  not  hitherto  clearly  marked,  between  the  middle  class 
and  the  clubs  and  the  populace  began  and  soon  showed  that 
it  contained  every  element  of  growth.  It  is  seldom  that  I  find 
myself  in  agreement  with  the  extremists  of  the  French  Eevo- 
lution,  but  at  this  crisis  I  am  strongly  of  opinion  that  they 
were  in  the  right. 

In  taking  such  a  step  as  the  flight  to  Varennes,  Louis  should 
have  been  resolved  never  to  return  alive,  and  he  should  have 
carried  out  that  resolution.  As  it  was  he  came  back  like  a 
recaptured  convict.  His  authority  (or  what  remained  of  it), 
his  reputation,  his  popularity,  were  all  lost  forever.  The  re- 
publicans (the  term  arose  at  this  time)  argued  that  the  King 
has  forfeited  the  public  confidence  and  can  never  recover  it. 
The  nation  can  never  forget  his  flight  after  the  positive  oaths 
he  had  previously  taken  that  he  was  free.  He  cannot  himself 
forget  that  he  has  been  brought  back  by  force,  and  that  he 
reigns  by  mere  sufferance  over  a  people  who  despise  him  as 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  37 

either  a  weakling  or  a  traitor.  The  elements  of  the  Mon- 
archy have  been  destroyed  while  the  King  himself  is  looked 
upon  as  a  conspirator;  nor  could  anything  be  more  preposter- 
ous than  to  confide  the  guardianship  of  the  Constitution  to 
one  who  has  declared  himself  its  enemy.  These  were  strong 
arguments  and  they  were  backed  by  Condorcet,  who  said,  "  If 
a  republic  were  formed  by  a  revolution  and  the  people  rose 
against  the  Court,  the  consequences  would  be  terrible;  but 
if  a  republic  be  formed  at  present,  while  the  Assembly  is  all 
powerful,  the  passage  from  monarchy  to  republicanism  will 
not  be  difficult;  and  it  is  much  better  that  it  should  take 
place  now  when  the  King,  from  the  situation  in  which  he 
has  placed  himself,  is  reduced  to  nothingness,  than  when  suffi- 
cient power  has  been  restored  to  him  to  render  his  overthrow 
an  effort."  These  words  are  so  prophetic  that  it  is  difficult 
to  believe  that  they  were  not  composed  after,  rather  than  be- 
fore, the  actual  overthrow  of  the  Monarchy.  They  are  how- 
ever quoted  from  Dumont,  who  is  certainly  one  of  the  most 
trustworthy  authorities  on  this  period  of  the  Eevolution. 

The  majority  of  the  Assembly  were  not  of  this  opinion. 
Some  of  them  held  that  a  nominal  sovereign  of  the  House  of 
Bourbon  was  a  necessity  of  the  State;  others  thought  a  re- 
public was  the  ideal  form  of  government  although  it  was  too 
dangerous  at  the  present  era;  while  all  had  begun  to  fear  the 
rising  power  of  the  Jacobins  more  than  the  falling  power  of 
the  Eoyalists.  On  the  5th  August  the  Constitution  was  re- 
ported as  complete  and  submitted  to  the  Assembly  for  a  final 
revision.  A  few  changes  of  a  moderate  kind  were  introduced, 
one  of  which  is  a  curious  illustration  of  the  vanity  of  human 
wishes.  On  the  30th  August,  a  decree  was  issued  that  no  Con- 
vention should  be  summoned  to  alter  the  Constitution  until 
the  close  of  thirty  years  from  the  present  date. 

On  the  4th  September  Louis  XYI.  appeared  in  the  Assem- 


38  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

bly  and  swore  to  accept  and  be  faithful  to  the  Constitution. 
A  general  amnesty  was  granted  for  all  political  offences  prior 
to  the  final  passing  of  the  Constitution  and  his  amnesty  was 
announced  as  closing  the  Eevolution.  Louis  XVI.,  formerly 
by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  France  and  Navarre,  now  be- 
came the  first  constitutional  monarch  under  the  style  and  title 
of  Louis,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  by  the  Constitutional  Law 
of  the  State,  King  of  the  French,  a  title  which  within  one  year 
was  to  be  changed  to  that  of  Louis  Capet,  the  last  of  the  Ty- 
rants. In  order  to  understand  the  history  of  the  eventful 
year  of  which  Bertrand  writes,  it  is  necessary  to  have  some 
knowledge  of  the  exact  position  which  the  King  and  his  Min- 
isters held  under  the  Constitution.  It  is  a  comr)lete  mistake 
to  attribute  the  failure  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  to  con- 
struct a  workable  monarchical  Constitution,  to  the  want  of  men 
of  light  and  leading  in  their  midst.  There  were  among  the 
Constitutional  reformers  statesmen  of  as  high  intellect,  experi- 
ence and  character  as  any  of  the  leaders  of  the  English  Par- 
liament of  the  eighteenth  century. 

These  statesmen,  had  their  counsels  been  followed,  might 
have  founded  an  excellent  Constitution,  combining  the  free- 
dom of  the  subject,  with  the  dignity  of  the  Crown.  They 
might  have  saved  France  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Terror,  the 
corruption  of  the  Directory  and  the  drain  of  more  than  twenty 
years  of  desperate  warfare.  Among  them  were  such  men  as 
Clermont  Tonnere,  Lally  Tolendal,  Malouet,  Mounier,  the 
Dukes  de  La  Eochefoucauld,  and  de  Liancourt,  and,  when  un- 
shackled from  the  chains  of  fiery  rhetoric  and  demagogy,  Mira- 
beau  himself. 

All  these,  and  many  others,  were  in  favour  of  a  Second 
Chamber  —  hereditary,  oflficial  or  elective ;  the  preservation  of 
the  Eoyal  prerogative,  including  the  absolute  Veto  of  the 
Crown;  the  modernization  of  the  Church,  the  Law,  and  the 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  39 

Military  and  Naval  Services.  All  were  in  favour  of  the  one 
great  reform  required,  the  opening  to  every  man,  of  whatever 
rank  or  station,  a  possible  career.  But,  in  that  tumultuous 
Assembly,  where  every  member  was  a  law  unto  himself,  it  was 
followers  rather  than  leaders  who  were  required.  If  the  As- 
sembly were  to  be  moved  or  awed  into  any  sort  of  unanimity  it 
was  by  declamation  or  vehemence,  not  by  the  measured  expo- 
sition of  experience,  knowledge  or  political  wisdom.  They 
could,  on  occasion,  be  influenced  by  the  wandering-star-like 
bursts  of  Mirabeau's  eloquence,  or  the  enthusiasm  of  Barnave, 
or  even  the  chivalry  of  Cazales;  but,  as  a  rule,  the  influence 
of  abstract,  windy  declaration  drawn  from  Eousseau  or  from 
misapprehensions  of  Greek  and  Eoman  philosophy,  was  far 
greater  than  that  of  speakers  who  drew  their  inspiration  from 
experience  or  from  their  knowledge  of  the  needs  and  require- 
ments of  the  French  nation  of  their  own  day.  It  is  curious  to 
note  that  more  than  one  speaker,  amid  the  cheers  of  his  col- 
leagues, reproached  the  admirers  of  the  British  Constitution 
with  daring  to  imitate  a  Parlement  which  had  basely  put  to 
death  its  King.  In  justice  to  the  Assembly  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  in  dealing  with  the  royal  authority  they  could 
not  forget  that  it  was  not  a  century  since  Louis  XIV.  could 
say  with  perfect  truth,  "  L'Etat ;  c'est  moi."  Certainly  neither 
of  his  successors  could  by  any  stretch  of  the  imagination  be 
termed  despots;  yet  theoretically  the  power  in  their  hands  and 
in  that  of  the  Ministers  was  undoubtedly  despotic,  and  it  was 
to  curb  this  theoretical  despotism  that  the  Constitution  was  to 
be  created.  At  the  same  time  every  class  in  France  was  per- 
meated through  and  through  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Sover- 
eignty of  the  People,  which  had  become  an  actual  article  of 
faith,  that  it  was  heresy  to  disbelieve,  while  the  many  members 
of  the  Assembly  who  had  served  in  the  American  War  of  In- 
dependence naturally  drew  their  inspiration  from  the  Constitu- 


40  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

tion  of  the  United  States,  rather  than  from  the  old  enemy, 
England,  against  which  they  had  recently  been  in  arms. 

Yet  the  King  himself  in  these  early  days,  was  both  popular 
and  respected  and  there  still  lingered  some  reverence  for  his- 
tory and  for  the  ancient  Monarchy  which  for  so  many  cen- 
turies had  been  the  greatest  and  the  proudest  house  in  the 
world.  The  consequence  of  these  mingled  theories  and  senti- 
ments was  to  establish  a  democratic  republic,  wherein  all  citi- 
zens were  to  be  socially  and  politically  equal ;  every  hereditary 
title  or  office  was  to  cease  to  exist;  every  post,  representative, 
administrative,  judicial  or  clerical  was  to  be  chosen  by  the 
People,  in  which  the  elective  system  was  to  be  carried  to,  and 
beyond,  its  utmost  limits.  Upon  this  republican  system  of  gov- 
ernment was  grafted  an  hereditary  monarchy,  a  mere  excres- 
cence, grotesquely  out  of  keeping  with  every  other  portion  of 
the  Constitution.  The  King,  while  he  continued  to  exist  in 
name,  was  deprived  of  all  authority,  all  prestige,  all  patron- 
age, all  command  even  over  his  own  troops,  all  power  of  par- 
don, all  control  over  the  Legislature  which  he  could  neither 
summon  nor  dismiss.  He  ceased  to  be  the  fountain  of  honour, 
or  the  fountain  of  justice. 

Two  fragments  of  the  prerogative  of  a  Constitutional  sov- 
ereign were  left  to  him,  the  power  of  formally  proposing  to  the 
Assembly  a  declaration  of  war,  and  the  power  of  sanctioning 
or  vetoing  the  decrees  of  the  Legislation.  The  sanction  was 
absolute,  the  veto  suspensive  only.  This  right  of  "  veto  "  had 
been  the  most  hotly  contested  clause  of  the  entire  Constitution. 
It  was  bitterly  opposed  by  the  members  of  the  Left  of  the  Con- 
stituent Assembly,  who  after  their  manner  let  loose  against  it 
the  whole  pack  of  Parisian  pamphleteers,  journalists  and  street 
agitators.  The  ordinary  inhabitants  of  Paris  —  the  man  in 
the  street  or  in  the  shop  —  had  never  in  his  life  heard  the 
word  and  had  not  the  remotest  idea  what  it  meant. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  41 

Some  looked,  or  were  taught  to  look,  upon  it  as  a  new  tax, 
others  as  a  speculation  to  raise  the  price  of  sugar  or  corn; 
others  as  a  plot  to  enable  the  Queen  to  send  money  to  Austria, 
others  as  a  law  giving  the  King  the  power  to  hang  whom  he 
chose  without  trial.  A  contemporary  reports  the  following 
conversation,  the  truth  of  which  he  vouches  for  as  having  been 
overheard  by  himself  in  the  Palais  Eoyal, 

Agitator.    "But  do  you  know  what  the  Veto  is?" 

Elector  of  Paris.     "  No." 

Agitator.     "  Then  I'll  tell  you.     It's  just  this. 

"  Suppose  you  have  your  bowl  full  of  soup  and  the  King  sends 
his  orders  to  you  to  throw  it  out,  however  hungry  you  may  be, 
you'll  have  to  do  it  then  and  there.  That  is  what  the  Veto  is." 
Yet,  all  the  labour  spent  on  allowing  the  King  a  suspensory 
veto  was  worse  than  wasted.  It  gave  an  opportunity  to  the 
Legislative  Assembly  of  passing  two  laws  so  harsh  and  threat- 
ening that  the  King  had  no  option  but  to  refuse  his  sanction, 
and  it  was  this  effort  to  use  his  veto  that  cost  him  his  crown 
and  his  life.  In  the  democratic  press  and  among  the  populace 
of  Paris,  the  King  and  Queen  were  seldom  referred  to  during 
these  years  otherwise  than  as  Veto  and  Madame  Veto.  Well 
might  Burke  say,  "  It  is  not  in  nature  that,  situated  as  the 
King  of  the  French  now  is,  he  can  respect  himself  or  be  re- 
spected by  others."  Louis  XVI.  himself  in  the  advice  which 
he  gives  to  his  Son  in  his  "Will  expresses  the  same  judgment  in 
words  of  singular  dignity  and  resignation,  "A  King  cannot 
make  himself  respected  and  do  all  the  good  which  is  in  his 
heart  without  a  necessary  degree  of  authority :  without  that  his 
power  is  too  limited  to  be  of  use,  and  as  he  cannot  then  in- 
spire respect,  he  necessarily  becomes  more  hurtful  than  use- 
ful." 

If  such  were  the  limitations  placed  by  the  Constitution  on 
the  authority  of  the  King,  it  is  easy  to  imagine  that  the  posi- 


42  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

tion  of  his  Ministers  was  a  complete  reversal  of  that  which 
they  had  occupied  hitherto. 

Por  centuries,  the  highest  ambition  to  which  an  able  French- 
man could  aspire  was  to  be  appointed  one  of  the  King's  Min- 
istry. The  world  hardly  offered  a  more  splendid  position,  or 
a  wider  field  for  display. 

Many  of  the  Ministry  had  been  well  deserving  of  the  pomp 
and  circumstance  which  surrounded  them;  a  few  had  been 
great  men  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word;  all  had  been  attended 
by  a  train  of  respectful  clients  offering  them  counsel,  present- 
ing petitions  or  offering  up  before  them  the  rich  incense  of 
flattery. 

A  great  noble,  a  judge  or  a  bishop  was  complimented  and 
pleased  when  he  received  a  smile  or  a  friendly  word  from 
Monseigneur  as  he  passed  on  his  way  to  attend  the  Council. 
Such  was  the  Ministry  of  the  Old  Regime.  Stat  Magna  noni' 
inis  umbra.  The  Minister  of  the  Constitutional  Regime  bore 
much  the  same  resemblance  to  Eichelieu  or  to  d'Argenson  as 
Louis,  King  of  the  French,  bore  to  Louis  XIV., ''  le  Roi  Soleil." 
*'  There  was  none  so  poor  to  do  him  reverence."  In  the  de- 
bates on  the  Ministry  in  the  Constituent  Assembly,  some  had 
urged  that  the  Ministry  should  be,  like  all  our  officials,  elected, 
but  the  conclusive  answer  was  that  Ministry  appointed  by 
the  People  would  be  too  highly  esteemed.  The  King  was 
therefore  permitted  to  appoint  and  dismiss  his  Ministers,  but 
his  selection  was  limited  to  those  who  had  not  for  two  years 
been  members  of  the  Xational  Assembly,  a  limitation  which 
seriously  narrowed  the  field  from  which  he  could  choose,  and 
often  forced  him  to  take  Ministers  whose  names  were  unknown 
to  himself  or  to  the  country,  and  who  possessed  neither  the 
experience  nor  the  consideration  necessary  to  advise  their  Sov- 
ereign or  face  the  Legislative  Assembly.  The  Ministers,  such 
as  they  usually  were,  were  wholly  deprived  of  authority;  they 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  43 

possessed  no  power  to  carry  out  their  duties  or  to  enforce  their 
orders.  The  only  way  in  which  it  was  possible  for  them  to 
carry  on  the  business  of  the  nation  was  to  induce,  persuade  or 
compel  the  Committees  of  the  Assembly  which  had  in  fact  en- 
tirely absorbed  the  authority  of  the  executive  government; 
to  act  in  concert  with  them  or  adopt  the  measures  which  they 
suggested.  Above  all,  the  Ministers  were  responsible  to  the 
Sovereign  People,  both  for  their  own  actions  and  for  those  of 
the  King.  And  by  responsibility,  as  they  were  constantly  re- 
minded by  journalists  and  deputies,  was  meant  Death.  The 
King  could  do  no  more  than  dismiss  them  on  a  pension;  the 
Assembly,  could,  at  any  moment,  pass  against  them  a  Decree 
of  Accusation  on  any  one  of  sixteen  charges,  eight  of  which 
were  capital  offences.  Obviously  they  depended  not  merely 
for  their  efficiency  but  for  their  personal  security,  on  the 
good  will  of  the  Assembly.  Under  the  Constituent  Assembly 
their  position  had  been  sufficiently  precarious,  under  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly  it  became  perilous  to  the  last  degree.  It  was 
the  fixed  policy  of  the  Girondists  and  Jacobins  to  thwart  the 
King's  Ministry,  to  insult,  denounce,  threaten  and  impeach 
them;  in  short  to  get  rid  of  them,  one  by  one,  until  the  King 
in  despair  should  be  driven  to  accept  a  Ministry  from  the 
Girondist  party  itself.  To  accomplish  this  purpose  and  to 
browbeat  and  silence  the  Constitutional  members  the  Giron- 
dists and  Jacobins  added  to  the  opposition  the  howls  and 
screams  of  the  galleries  of  the  Assembly,  which  they  packed 
with  what  Burke  justly  describes  as  "  a  mixed  mob  of  fero- 
cious men  and  of  women  lost  to  shame,  who  direct,  control, 
applaud  and  explode  them;  domineering  over  them,  with  a 
strange  mixture  of  servile  petulance  and  proud,  presumptuous 
authority."  Bertrand  tells  of  the  efforts,  occasionally  suc- 
cessful, but  in  the  main  futile,  which  he  made  to  counteract 
the  Jacobin  packing  of  the  galleries,  by  employing  a  clique 


44  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

of  his  own  to  applaud  the  Ministers  and  shout  down  the 
Girondists  and  Jacobins;  but  as  the  following  extract  from 
Etienne  Dumont's  Memoirs  shows,  the  Constitutionalists  and 
Ministerialists  were  totally  unfitted  to  deal  with  such  past 
masters  in  the  art  of  political  duplicity  as  their  unscrupulous 
opponents.  Dumont,  it  should  be  remembered,  was  much  more 
in  sympathy  with  the  Eepublican  than  with  the  Constitution- 
alist party. 

On  the  10th  March  1792,  Monsieur  de  Lessart,  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  was  impeached  of  High  Treason  and  sent  for 
trial  before  the  High  Court  at  Orleans. 

Dumont  writes :  "  I  heard  this  Act  of  Impeachment,  con- 
taining seventeen  or  eighteen  counts,  read  in  the  Committee. 
When  alone  with  Brissot  and  Claviere,  I  made  some  observa- 
tions on  the  subject.  I  said  that  the  counts  were,  many  of 
them,  one  and  the  same  thing,  others  were  so  vague  that  it  was 
impossible  to  answer  them;  that  they  were  calculated  to  ex- 
cite undue  prejudice  and  violent  animosity  against  the  accused ; 
that  many  of  them  were  contradictory;  and  that  personal  in- 
vectives—  which  ought  to  be  carefully  avoided  in  a  criminal 
accusation,  were  freely  employed. 

"  I  was  indignant  at  Brissot's  reply.  Laughing  at  my  sim- 
plicity, he  said  in  a  tone  of  disgraceful  levity,  *  It  is  a  party 
manoeuvre.  De  Lessart  must  positively  go  to  Orleans,  other- 
wise the  King,  who  is  attached  to  him,  will  replace  him  in 
the  Ministry.  "We  must  steal  a  march  upon  the  Jacobins  and 
this  Act  of  Impeachment  gives  us  the  merit  of  doing  what  they 
would  otherwise  have  done.  I  know  that  the  counts  are  mul- 
tiplied without  necessity,  but  the  object  of  this  is  to  lengthen 
the  proceedings.  Garand  de  Coulon,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the 
High  Court  of  the  Nation,  is  a  strict  observer  of  legal  forms ; 
he  will  methodically  proceed  to  examine  each  separate  count 
and  six  months  will  pass  before  de  Lessart  is  able  to  clear  him- 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  45 

self.  He  will  be  acquitted  of  course;  there  is  no  evidence 
whatever  against  him.  But  we  shall  gain  our  object  and 
prevent  his  returning  to  office.'  '  Good  God ! '  I  exclaimed, 
confounded  at  such  abominable  principles,  '  are  you  so  plunged 
in  party  Machiavelism.  Are  you  the  man  whom  I  have  heard 
so  often  declaiming  against  subterfuges.  Is  it  Brissot  who  is 
now  bent  on  the  persecution  of  an  innocent  man ! '  He  was 
somewhat  disconcerted  and  replied,  *  But  you  don't  under- 
stand how  we  are  situated.  De  Lessart's  administration  would 
destroy  us,  and  we  are  bound  to  get  rid  of  him  at  any  price. 
It  is  only  a  temporary  measure.  I  know  Garand's  integrity 
and  de  Lessart  will  come  to  no  harm.'  The  sequel  is  soon  told. 
De  Lessart  was  one  of  the  unhappy  victims  of  the  Massacre 
at  Versailles,  9  Sept.  1792.  The  King  was  forced  to  appoint 
Eoland,  Claviere  and  the  rest  on  the  23d  March,  thus  admit- 
ting the  enemies'  garrison  into  his  dilapidated  fortress.  They 
were  dismissed  on  the  12th  June,  but  the  King  paid  a  bitter 
price  for  his  release,  in  the  two  invasions  of  the  Tuileries  on 
the  20th  June  and  the  10th  August." 

After  the  fall  of  the  Monarchy,  Roland,  Claviere  and  the 
others  returned  to  power.  That  their  days,  as  well  as  Bris- 
sot's,  were  but  few  and  evil  was  due  to  the  stronger,  more  reso- 
lute, and  more  brutal  power  of  the  Jacobins,  who  used  them  a3 
their  tools  to  destroy  the  Monarchy  and  swept  them  into  the 
abyss  as  soon  as  they  had  done  the  work  designed  for  them. 
Several  of  the  Ministers  who  held  office  under  Louis  XVI. 
during  his  last  year  were  men  of  some  note  in  their  days; 
"  alors  celehre  "  to  use  Thiers'  delightful  phrase.  Others  are 
so  obscure  that  they  have  passed  from  the  memory  of  those 
best  versed  in  the  history  of  the  Revolution. 

In  the  notes  at  the  end  of  these  Memoirs  I  have  given  a 
few  biographical  details  of  each  of  them,  which  I  hope  will 
be  sufficient  to  show  what  manner  of  men  they  were. 


46  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

Three  only  of  these  Ministers  play  any  great  part  in  this 
final  year  of  the  Monarchy,  Bertrand  de  Moleville  himself,  Nar- 
bonne  and  Dumouriez.  Bertrand  is  his  own  best  interpreter, 
but  I  have  already  given  a  few  comments  on  the  five  months 
of  his  Ministry. 

Narbonne  and  Dumouriez  are  too  important  to  be  relegated 
to  a  note,  as  is  also  La  Fayette,  who  although  not  a  Minister, 
claims  our  attention  as  a  man  who  risked  and  lost  all  that  was 
dear  to  him  in  his  defence  of  the  Constitution  and  of  the 
Constitutional  King. 

Marie  Jacques,  Count  de  Narbonne  Lara,  was  nominally  at 
least,  a  member  of  an  old  Spanish  family  which  bore  for  its 
motto  "We  do  not  descend  from  Kings,  but  Kings  descend 
from  us."  In  strange  contradiction  to  this  motto,  the  Count 
de  Narbonne  was  universally  accredited  with  being  the  son  of 
Louis  XV.  It  is  certain  that  he  bore  a  remarkable  personal 
resemblance  to  that  Monarch,  though  it  is  difficult  to  trace 
any  mental  or  moral  resemblance  between  the  two.  Whether 
his  nationality  was  Spanish  or  French,  he  certainly  possessed 
every  French  characteristic  in  a  superior  degree.  High  spirits, 
vanity,  self-confidence,  vivacity  of  speech  and  action,  acute 
observation,  charm  of  manner,  possibly  a  certain  indifference  to 
truth,  combined  to  make  Narbonne  acceptable  to  if  not  always 
trusted  by  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  His  youth  was 
passed  at  Versailles,  where  his  mother  held  the  post  of  lady 
in  waiting,  first  to  the  sister  and  afterwards  to  one  of  the 
daughters  of  Louis  XV.  After  a  sufficiently  brilliant  career 
as  an  officer  of  cavalry,  artillery  and  infantry,  Xarbonne,  who 
warmly  espoused  the  Constitutional  cause,  was  elected  to  the 
command  of  the  National  Guard  of  the  Darby.  In  February 
1791,  when  the  King's  Aunts  emigrated,  he  acted  with  gal- 
lantry and  address  in  enabling  them  to  escape  from  France, 
and  accompanied  them  to  Eome.    He  owed  his  appointment  as 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  47 

Minister  in  great  measure  to  Madame  de  Stael,  with  whom  he 
had  been  on  terms  of  intimacy  since  the  beginning  of  the  Revo- 
lution. Madame  de  Stael  was  now  only  at  the  beginning  of 
her  career  of  political  intrigue.  Narbonne  was  the  first  of  a 
series  of  proteges  which  included  several  remarkable  men,  such 
as  Talleyrand  and  Benjamin  Constant.  As  Lamartine  says, 
"  To  be  the  veiled  fate  of  a  great  man  was  the  only  aim  possi- 
ble to  her  ambition  "  until  she  discovered  her  genius  for  litera- 
ture. Karbonne  was  brilliant,  active  and  courageous  and  she 
exalted  him  into  a  hero  and  a  statesman.  At  the  date  when 
he  was  appointed  Minister  of  "War,  the  7th  Dec.  1791,  he 
was  in  his  thirty-seventh  year.  The  fact  of  his  being  a  prom- 
inent member  of  the  Constitutional  party,  is  sufficient  to  ac- 
count for  a  cold  reception  from  the  King  and  Queen  and  for 
the  prejudice  against  him  so  markedly  shown  by  Bertrand  de 
Moleville.  "  So  Narbonne  is  Minister  at  last,"  wrote  Marie 
Antoinette  to  Fersen,  "what  joy  and  glory  for  Madame  de 
Stael,  who  can  now  dispose  of  armies.  He  is  clean  enough 
and  he  will  be  useful  in  salving  the  Constitutionalists.  He  is 
the  right  sort  of  man  for  the  Army  of  to-day.  How  glad  I 
should  be  were  I  once  again  in  a  position  to  let  these  people 
know  that  I  see  through  them  thoroughly."  Yet,  Narbonne 
had  at  least  a  plan  of  his  own,  and  was  prepared  to  take  the 
offensive;  war  was  now  imminent.  This  was  the  work  of  the 
Girondist  party,  and  especially  of  Brissot,  and  it  was  becoming 
popular  throughout  the  country.  Those  most  opposed  to  war 
were,  on  the  one  hand,  the  King,  and  on  the  other  the  Jacobins, 
Eobespierre,  Danton,  Marat,  Dubois  Crance  and  the  others. 
Brissot's  object  was  only  incidentally  to  attack  Austria  or 
Prussia.  The  real  motive  was  to  render  Louis  XVI.  still 
more  powerless  and  unpopular,  and  so  to  ensure  his  fall.  Bris- 
sot, Guadet  and  Gensonne  deliberately  put  forth  the  argument 
that  the  first  great  defeat  (which  they  seemed  to  look  forward 


48  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

to  with  a  perfectly  light  heart),  would  destroy  the  Monarchy 
offhand  and  establish  the  Kepublic  of  their  dreams. 

Narbonne  from  exactly  opposite  motives  was  equally  in  fa- 
vour of  the  war;  he  held  that  even  a  single  success,  of  which 
he  seems  to  have  been  confident,  would  do  more  to  re-establish 
the  King's  position  than  any  amount  of  concessions  or  in- 
trigues, while  if  a  series  of  victories,  of  which  he  seems  to 
have  been  tolerably  sanguine,  should  be  won  by  French  skill 
and  valour,  Louis  XVI.  would  be  restored  to  a  position  more 
to  be  desired  than  that  of  any  of  his  predecessors.  The  Giron- 
dists would  be  utterly  routed,  and  Narbonne  himself,  to  whom 
success  was  due,  would  rank  as  the  great  Minister  of  the  Con- 
stitution. 

Accordingly  he  accompanied  Louis  to  the  Assembly  on  the 
14th  December,  where  he  declared  that  the  King,  in  spite  of 
his  love  of  peace,  was  well  prepared  for  war.  That  150,000 
excellent  troops,  well  provided  with  arms  and  munitions,  were 
already  on  the  frontier,  divided  into  three  complete  Army 
Corps,  commanded  by  La  Fayette,  Eochambeau  and  Liickner. 
He  then  set  out  on  a  tour  of  inspection.  Eeturning  on  the 
11th  January,  he  declared  that  the  Northern  Department  was 
in  the  highest  possible  state  of  preparation ;  a  statement  which 
was  cheered  to  the  echo  by  the  Assembly,  and  which  wanted 
nothing  but  a  semblance  of  truth  to  be  altogether  satisfac- 
tory. He  persuaded  the  King  to  create  Liickner  and  Eocham- 
beau marshals  of  France,  but  was  unable  to  obtain  the  same 
honour  for  La  Fayette.  The  account  of  the  difficulties  and 
quarrels  which  arose  between  Narbonne,  Bertrand  de  Moleville 
and  the  other  Ministers  (given  in  Chapter  XVIIL  of  these 
Memoirs)  is  obviously  true  in  the  main,  though  naturally 
enough  it  is  an  ex  parte  statement,  tinged,  as  is  the  account 
of  Narbonne's  interview  with  the  Queen,  with  no  small  quan- 
tity of  prejudice  and  jealousy.     Bertrand,  at  least,  was  per- 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  49 

mitted  to  resign  with  every  possible  expression  of  sympathy 
and  kindness,  while  Narbonne  was  dismissed  9  March  1792, 
with  a  contempt  which  would  have  been  overstrained  had  he 
been  a  recalcitrant  footman. 

He  was  succeeded  after  a  brief  interval  by  Dumouriez  and 
the  Girondist  Ministry. 

Narbonne  went  to  the  front  and  took  part  in  some  of  the 
earlier  engagements  of  the  war.  He  was  summoned  by  Louis, 
in  the  last  days  of  his  reign,  to  return  to  Paris,  but  he  arrived 
only  on  the  6th  or  7th  August  1792. 

A  Decree  of  Accusation  of  High  Treason  was  passed  against 
him,  and  the  Municipality  placed  him  "  Hors  la  Loi"  but 
Madame  de  Stael  concealed  him  in  her  own  house  and  smug- 
gled him  in  safety  to  England  under  the  protection  of  a  Han- 
overian, Doctor  Bollman.  WTien  the  King's  trial  was  immi- 
nent, Narbonne  offered  himself  to  the  Convention  as  one  of 
Louis'  advocates,  but  as  in  the  case  of  Bertrand  de  Moleville 
and  others,  permission  was  tersely  refused. 

After  the  war  with  France  was  declared  Narbonne  was  or- 
dered to  leave  England.  He  wandered  through  Germany  and 
Switzerland  until  the  year  1800,  when  he  returned  to  France 
and  solicited  from  the  First  Consul  a  return  of  his  Commis- 
sion. This  request  was  not  granted  until  the  year  1809,  when 
he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  General  of  Divisions,  in  which 
capacity  he  went  through  the  Eussian  Campaign  of  1812-13. 
He  was  then  sent  as  French  Ambassador  to  Austria,  when  he 
strove  in  vain  to  come  to  terms  with  Metternich  during  the 
negotiations  at  Prague. 

Speaking  of  the  Mission,  Napoleon,  in  one  of  his  conver- 
sations at  St.  Helena  said,  "TJntil  I  sent  M.  de  Xarbonne  we 
had  been  steadily  duped  by  the  Austrians.  In  less  than  a  fort- 
night, M.  de  ISTarbonne  had  got  to  the  bottom  of  everything, 
and  Metternich  was  thoroughly  put  out  of  countenance  by  him. 
Vol.  1—4 


50  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

The  fatality  of  life!  It  is  quite  possible  that  I  owe  my  ruin 
to  Narbonne's  success.  His  talent  did  me  more  harm  than 
good.  The  Austrians,  finding  their  duplicity  discovered,  threw 
off  the  mask  and  turned  openly  against  me.  Had  Narbonne 
shown  less  penetration,  the  Austrians  would  have  followed 
their  usual  languid,  dilatory  course.  I  should  have  gained  all 
I  wanted,  more  time,  and  who  knows  what  chances  might  have 
come  to  aid  me."  The  Count  de  Narbonne  died,  either  from 
a  fall  from  his  horse  or  more  probably  from  typhus  fever  at 
Torgau,  on  the  17th  Nov.  1813,  aged  58. 

Charles  Frangois  Duperier  Dumouriez,  a  member  of  an  old 
family  of  Provence,  before  the  Eevolution  had  led  an  adven- 
turous and  wandering  military  and  diplomatic  career;  he  had 
been  wounded  in  the  Seven  Years'  War,  had  held  a  command 
in  Corsica  in  1768-1769  and  had  been  despatched  on  secret 
missions  to  Poland  and  elsewhere.  In  1788  he  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  Marechal  de  Camp.  The  early  days  of  the 
Eevolution  found  him  occupying  the  position  of  Military 
Governor  of  Cherbourg  and  superintending  the  fortification 
then  being  strengthened  and  enlarged.  He  stood  for  election 
to  the  States-General  but  failed  to  be  elected.  In  1790  he 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Mirabeau  and  La  Fayette. 

His  relations  with  the  latter  were  anything  but  cordial.  La 
Fayette's  vanity  and  aristocratic  respectability  made  him  scorn 
Dumouriez;  a  scorn  which  was  returned  with  interest  by  Du- 
mouriez, conscious  of  higher  ability  and  wider  views  than  the 
"  Grandison-Cromwell "  of  the  Eevolution.  At  the  same  pe- 
riod he  struck  up  something  like  a  friendship  with  Genson- 
nee,  who  introduced  him  to  Madame  Eoland,  Brissot  and  the 
other  members  of  the  party. 

Dumouriez  was  in  his  fifty-third  year  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  17  March  1792.  Al- 
though he  entered  the  Ministry  with  Roland,   Claviere  and  the 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION  51 

other  Girondists,  he  had  little  or  nothing  in  common  with 
them.  So  far  as  internal  politics  were  concerned  he  belonged 
to  the  Constitutional  Royalists,  with  perhaps  a  stronger  love 
of  law  and  order,  and  a  greater  contempt  for  the  will  of  the 
Sovereign  People  than  was  common  among  his  colleagues.  But 
for  internal  politics  he  cared  little.  His  attitude  towards  the 
two  famous  decrees  for  the  establishment  of  the  Camp  of  the 
Federes  and  the  banishment  of  "  unsworn  "  priests  was  rather 
contemptuous  than  inimical.  The  Federes  he  thought  he  could 
easily  get  rid  of,  while  the  priests  were  nothing  to  him.  They 
might  be  transported,  imprisoned  or  killed  for  all  he  cared. 
The  misunderstanding  with  Louis  XVI.  which  led  to  his  res- 
ignation was  due  to  his  inability  to  appreciate  the  horror  with 
which  Louis  viewed  the  possibility  of  sanctioning  the  per- 
secution of  the  clergy  whom  he  believed  to  be  absolutely  in 
the  right,  and  looked  upon  as  martyrs  to  the  cause  from  which 
he  had  apostatized  in  giving  his  consent  to  the  Civil  Con- 
stitution of  the  Clergy. 

From  the  allusions  in  the  extracts  from  Dumouriez's  Mem- 
oirs which  I  give  below,  it  must  be  concluded  that  Louis  had 
for  a  moment  unwillingly  consented  to  Dumouriez's  proposal 
that  he  should  sign  the  two  decrees  and  had  shortly  afterwards 
withdrawn  his  consent. 

But  it  was  on  the  foreign  policy  of  France  that  Dumouriez's 
mind  was  focused.  Like  Narbonne  he  was  strongly  in  favour 
of  war,  and  like  him  he  had  a  plan  for  its  conduct,  but  Du- 
mouriez's plan  was  more  grandiose,  statesmanlike  and  far 
reaching  than  the  visions  of  the  more  sanguine,  but  slighter 
Narbonne.  Dumouriez's  experiences  in  the  Seven  Years'  War 
had  led  him  to  despise  the  military  power  of  Austria  and  to 
respect  beyond  measure  the  Prussian  Army. 

His  plan  was  therefore  to  gain  alliances,  which  should  at 
least  secure  the  benevolent  neutrality  of  Prussia  and  the  lesser 


52  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

German  states;  to  form  a  close  friendship  with  England;  to 
keep  the  various  Italian  principalities  and  kingdoms  quiet  and 
thus  to  isolate  Austria  and  to  fall  upon  her  with  all  the  force 
of  the  French  Armies.  He  foresaw  the  possibilities  of  the 
wonderful  campaign  which  he  himself  conducted  in  the  Nether- 
lands; but  there  were  two  points  in  his  plan  which  experience 
proved  to  be  erroneous.  In  the  first  place  he  did  not  realize 
the  rapid  decline  which  had  taken  place  in  the  military  prow- 
ess and  skill  of  the  Prussian  Kingdom,  and  in  the  second,  he 
did  not  foresee  the  dogged  endurance  and  determination  of  the 
Austrian  soldiery  when  they  were  under  the  command  of  com- 
petent Generals. 

In  any  case  Dumouriez's  tenure  of  oflfice  was  cut  short  be- 
fore he  could  even  begin  to  put  his  schemes  into  action. 

He  held  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  from  the  17th 
March  to  the  14th  June  1792,  and  that  of  "War,  to  which 
he  was  appointed  after  the  dismissal  of  his  fiendish  col- 
leagues, for  five  days,  from  the  13th  to  the  17th  June. 

The  following  extracts  from  Dumouriez's  Memoirs  are  in 
themselves  so  interesting,  and  throw  so  much  light  on  his  own 
character,  on  those  of  the  King  and  Queen,  and  on  the  posi- 
tion of  France  during  the  months  of  March,  April  and  May, 
1792,  that  I  need  make  no  apology  for  reproducing  them  here. 

Dumouriez's  account  of  the  first  conversation  which  he  held 
with  Louis  XVI.  on  the  16  March  1792,  runs  thus: 

Dumouriez.  "Your  order.  Sire,  to  accept  the  post  which  I 
had  before  refused  (that  of  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs)  con- 
vinces me  that  your  Majesty  no  longer  entertains  any  prejudice 
against  me." 

Louis.     "  That  is  true." 

Dumouriez.  "  Then,  Sire,  I  shall  devote  myself  entirely  to 
your  service,  but  the  post  of  a  Minister  is  no  longer  what  it 
used  to  be.    Without  ceasing  to  be  the  zealous  servant  of  your 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  53 

Majesty,  I  am  the  servant  of  the  Nation  also.  I  shall  always 
address  you  in  the  Language  of  Liberty  and  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. Absorbed  in  the  duties  of  my  post  I  shall  not  have 
many  opportunities  of  paying  my  court  to  you;  and  in  this 
matter,  I  shall  serve  you  best,  by  waiving  all  manner  of  cere- 
mony. I  shall  transact  all  the  business  of  my  office  with  your- 
self or  at  the  Council.  Nearly  all  those  entrusted  by  you  with 
diplomatic  functions  are  avowedly  counter-revolutionists,  I 
am  obliged  to  propose  to  you  several  changes  in  the  Diplo- 
matic Service.  I  fear  I  may  hurt  your  feelings  in  the  choice 
of  their  successors.  Some  of  them  are  unknown  to  you,  the 
names  of  others  will  cause  you  displeasure.  When  your  re- 
pugnance is  strong  and  well  founded,  I  shall  obey  you  as  my 
Master;  but  if  your  choice  is  merely  suggested  by  those  who 
surround  you  and  is  visibly  calculated  to  harm  you,  in  such 
a  case  I  beg  you  either  to  follow  my  advice  or  to  appoint  a 
successor.  Think,  Sire,  of  the  terrible  danger  which  threatens 
your  throne.  You  must  be  supported  by  means  of  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Nation.  This  is  a  conquest  yet  to  be  achieved 
and  it  depends  entirely  upon  yourself.  I  have  this  morning 
drawn  up  the  drafts  of  four  important  despatches  which  I 
will  present  at  the  first  Council.  They  do  not  resemble  in 
any  way  the  despatches  of  my  predecessors ;  circumstances  have 
changed  all  that.  If  my  labours  here  are  agreeable  to  you,  I 
shall  remain.  If  not,  my  camp  equipage  is  always  in  readi- 
ness, in  order  that  I  may  serve  my  country  and  yourself  in 
the  field.  The  Army  is  my  real  element  and  the  object  of  my 
thoughts  for  these  last  thirty-six  years." 

Louis.  "  I  like  your  frankness.  I  am  sure  that  you  are  at- 
tached to  me.  I  wish  to  carry  out  the  Constitution  and  I  hope 
that  I  shall  be  well  pleased  with  your  labours.  A  great  many 
things  have  been  said  to  me  against  you." 

A  few  days  later  the  King  informed  Dumouriez  that  the 


64  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

Queen  wished  to  have  some  private  conversation  with  him. 
He  found  her  alone,  very  much  flushed,  walking  backwards 
and  forwards  with  hasty  steps. 

She  at  length  advanced  towards  him  with  a  somewhat  an- 
gry and  majestic  air  and  spoke  as  follows :  "  Sir,  you  are  all 
powerful  at  this  moment;  but  it  is  through  the  favour  of  the 
people  who  soon  demolish  their  idols.  Your  situation  depends 
upon  your  conduct.  It  is  said  that  you  possess  great  talents. 
You  ought  to  know  that  neither  the  King  nor  I  approve  of  all 
these  new  ideas  or  the  Constitution.  I  tell  you  this  frankly 
that  you  may  choose  what  part  you  will  play." 

Dumouriez.  "  I  am  shocked  at  the  painful  confidence  your 
Majesty  has  chosen  to  honour  me  with.  I  will  not  betray  it. 
But  if  I  am  called  upon  to  choose  between  the  King  and  the 
Nation,  I  am  the  servant  of  my  country.  Permit  me  to  rep- 
resent to  you  that  his  Majesty's  safety,  your  own,  and  that  of 
your  august  children  are  closely  bound  up  with  the  Constitu- 
tion, to  which  is  due  also  the  re-establishment  of  the  King's 
legitimate  authority.  I  should  be  treating  both  him  and  you 
with  injustice  if  I  did  not  say  this.  Both  of  you  are  sur- 
rounded by  enemies  who  are  resolved  to  sacrifice  you  to  their 
own  private  interests.  If  once  we  can  get  the  Constitution  into 
working  order,  far  from  being  an  occasion  of  embarrassment 
to  the  King,  it  will  prove  his  safeguard  and  his  fortune. 

"  It  is  all  the  more  necessary,  therefore,  that  he  should  con- 
cur in  establishing  it  solidly  and  quickly." 

The  unfortunate  Queen,  shocked  at  finding  her  prejudices 
thus  opposed,  replied  in  a  louder  and  more  passionate  tone, 
"  It  will  never  last.     Therefore  take  care  of  yourself." 

Dumouriez.  "  Madame,  I  am  more  than  fifty  years  old;  my 
life  has  been  full  of  perils.  \Mien  I  entered  the  Ministry,  I 
reflected  that  responsibility  was  not  the  greatest  of  my  dan- 
gers." 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  65 

"  Alas ! "  exclaimed  the  Queen  in  a  tone  of  deep  melancholy, 
"  How  frightfully  I  am  calumniated.  You  seem  to  believe  me 
capable  of  having  you  assassinated."  As  she  spoke,  the  tears 
ran  down  her  cheeks. 

Dumouriez.  "  God  forbid  that  I  should  do  you  such  a  cruel 
injustice.  Your  Majesty's  character  is  a  great  and  noble  one. 
You  have  given  heroic  proofs  of  it,  which  have  insured  my 
admiration  and  devotion.  Believe  me,  Madame,  when  I  say 
that  I  have  no  object  or  interest  in  deceiving  you ;  for  I  abhor 
anarchy  and  crime  as  deeply  as  you  do.  Trust  me.  I  possess 
at  least  experience,  and  I  am  in  a  better  position  to  judge  of 
events  than  you  are.  What  is  now  going  on  is  no  momentary, 
popular  explosion  as  you  seem  to  think.  It  is  the  rising  Eevo- 
lution,  almost  unanimous,  of  a  great  nation  against  inveterate 
abuses.  There  are  many  and  powerful  factions  fanning  the 
flame,  and  many  of  those  abound  with  fools,  fanatics  and  ruf- 
fians. For  myself,  I  look  only  at  two  objects  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  King  and  the  Nation.  ^Miatever  tends  to  separate 
them  contributes  to  their  mutual  ruin.  I  am  labouring  to  the 
utmost  of  my  power  to  re-unite  them,  and  in  this  work  I  ask 
your  help.  If  you  look  on  me  only  as  an  obstacle  to  your 
own  plans,  tell  me  so  frankly  and  I  will  instantly  place  ray 
resignation  in  the  King's  hands  and  retire  to  some  corner  of 
my  country,  there  to  lament  over  its  fate  and  on  your  own." 

On  another  occasion  the  Queen  said  to  Dumouriez,  "  You  find 
me  quite  prostrated.  I  no  longer  dare  to  go  near  the  windows 
overlooking  the  garden.  Yesterday  evening  I  appeared  at  the 
window  opposite  .the  Court  to  breathe  a  little  fresh  air.  One 
of  the  National  Guard  saw  me  and  seized  the  opportunity  to 
overwhelm  me  with  the  grossest  insults,  ending  up  with  '  You 
don't  know  how  glad  I  should  be  to  have  your  head  stuck  on 
the  top  of  my  bayonet.' 

"  In  this  frightful  garden  you  sec  in  one  place  a  man  mounted 


56  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

on  a  chair  and  declaming  the  most  hideous  calumnies  against 
us ;  in  another  an  oflBeer  or  an  abbe  being  dragged  towards  the 
fountains,  and  overwhelmed  with  blows  and  insults ;  and  while 
all  this  is  going  on  there  are  other  people  walking  about  or 
playing  football  quite  unconcerned.  What  a  place  to  live  in, 
what  a  people."  Dumouriez  adds  that  he  had  nothing  to  re- 
ply, but  could  only  answer  by  deep  sighs. 

On  the  17th  June  1792,  Dumouriez  had  his  last  interview 
with  Louis  XVI.,  which  he  thus  describes : 

After  examining  and  signing  his  accounts  Louis  said,  "  You 
are  about  then  to  join  the  Army  and  Liickner." 

Dumouriez.  "  Yes,  Sire,  I  am  delighted  to  leave  this  fright- 
ful city.  I  have  but  one  regret,  and  that  is,  the  danger  you 
are  in." 

Louis.    "Yes,  certainly,"  with  a  deep  sigh. 

Dumouriez.  "  Well,  Sire,  you  cannot  now  suppose  that  I 
speak  from  any  motive  of  self-interest.  I  am  no  longer  a 
member  of  your  Council  and  shall  not  in  future  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  approaching  you.  I  am  speaking  only  from  motives 
of  fidelity  and  attachment  to  yourself,  and  therefore  I  dare 
once  more  to  beseech  you,  out  of  love  to  your  country,  re- 
gard for  your  own  safety  and  that  of  your  Crown,  in  the  name 
of  your  August  Consort  and  of  your  children,  not  to  persist  in 
your  fatal  resolution  of  applying  your  Veto  to  the  two  decrees. 
Your  refusal  to  do  so  will  not  benefit  the  country,  while  it  will 
assuredly  bring  about  your  own  immediate  ruin." 

Louis.  "  Speak  no  more  on  the  subject.  My  mind  is  made  up." 

Dumouriez.  "  Ah,  Sire !  You  told  me  the  same  thing  in 
tliis  very  room,  when,  in  the  Queen's  presence,  you  pledged 
your  word  that  you  would  sanction  them." 

Louis.     "  I  was  in  the  wrong  and  I  repent  of  what  I  said." 

Dumouriez.  "  Sire,  I  shall  never  see  you  again.  Pardon 
therefore  my  frankness.     I  am  over  fifty  years  old,  and  I  have 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  57 

had  much  experience.  It  was  not  then  that  you  were  wrong 
but  now.  Your  conscience  has  been  misled  in  the  matter  of 
the  Decree  against  the  Priests. 

"  You  are  being  drawn  into  a  Civil  War.  You  have  no  re- 
sources and  you  must  therefore  succumb.  History,  while  it 
pities  you  will  at  the  same  time  lay  on  your  shoulders  the  re- 
sponsibility of  having  caused  the  misfortunes  of  France  in  con- 
sequence of  your  ill-timed  scruples.  You  know  what  ridicule 
this  very  circumstance  has  thrown  on  the  memory  of  James 
II.  I  dread  more  the  danger  to  which  you  are  exposed  by 
your  friends,  than  that  you  are  likely  to  endure  from  your 
enemies." 

The  King  was  at  this  moment  seated  at  the  table,  where  he 
had  signed  the  accounts,  Dumouriez  was  standing  by  his  side, 
and  the  King  took  his  hand  and  said  to  him  with  a  very  melan- 
choly air  "  God  is  my  witness,  that  I  wish  only  for  the  happi- 
ness of  France." 

Dumouriez.  "I  do  not  doubt  it,  Sire,  but  you  owe  an  ac- 
count to  God,  not  only  of  the  purity  but  also  of  the  enlight- 
ened use  you  make  of  your  intentions.  You  think  that  you 
will  save  religion.  On  the  contrary,  you  will  destroy  it.  The 
Priests  will  be  massacred  and  your  crown  will  be  snatched  from 
you.     Perhaps  you  yourself,  your  Consort,  your  children — " 

Unable  to  continue,  Dumouriez  kissed  the  King's  hand. 
Both  were  in  tears.  After  a  few  moments  of  profound  silence, 
he  continued,  "  Sire,  if  the  French  Nation  knew  you  as  well 
as  I  do.  all  our  misfortunes  would  soon  be  at  an  end.  You  de- 
sire the  happiness  of  France.  To  obtain  it,  it  is  necessary  that 
you  should  sacrifice  your  own  scruples. 

"  Those  who  are  directing  your  conduct  are  blinded  by  their 
own  interests  and  by  the  spirit  of  faction  which  misleads  every 
one  in  times  of  revolution.  You  have  never  ceased  to  sacri- 
fice yourself,  to  the  Nation,  ever  since  1789.     Continue  to  do 


58  EDITOR'S  INTEODUCTION. 

BO  and  these  commotions  will  die  down,  the  Constitution  will 
begin  to  work,  the  French  will  resume  their  original  character, 
and  the  rest  of  your  reign,  founded  on  fixed  and  certain  laws, 
will  be  happy  and  stable.  Had  there  been  a  Constitution  be- 
fore your  reign,  you  would  never  have  experienced  the  long 
train  of  evils  which  now  assail  you.  You  are  still  the  ambi- 
tion of  your  understudy.  Your  soul  is  free  from  reproach. 
Take  the  advice  of  a  man  exempt  from  faction  and  prejudice ; 
of  one  who  has  always  tried  to  tell  you  the  truth." 

Louis,  "  I  expect  death  and  I  pardon  my  murderers  be- 
forehand. I  am  indebted  to  you  for  your  kindness.  You  have 
served  me  faithfully  and  I  hold  you  in  my  esteem.  If  hap- 
pier days  should  ever  arrive,  I  will  give  you  proofs  of  my  re- 
gard." The  King  then  hastily  rose  from  the  table  and  placed 
himself  at  a  window  at  the  other  end  of  the  room.  Dumouriez 
slowly  collected  his  papers,  to  give  himself  time  to  compose  his 
countenance  and  prevent  any  of  the  members  of  the  Court  from 
observing  his  melancholy  as  he  retired,  as  this  long  confer- 
ence had  certainly  excited  their  curiosity. 

The  King,  hearing  him  open  the  door,  made  steps  forward 
and  said  to  him  very  cordially,  "  Adieu.  I  wish  you  all  man- 
ner of  happiness." 

The  remainder  of  Dumouriez's  career  does  not  belong  to  the 
period  of  these  Memoirs,  and  it  presents  too  varied  an  interest 
to  be  given  here.  It  must  suffice  to  say  that  after  winning  the 
two  battles,  Valmy,  on  the  20th  September,  and  Jemmapes  on 
the  6  November  1793,  the  latter  giving  the  whole  of  the 
Austrian  Netherlands  to  France,  Dumouriez  became  alarmed 
and  discontented,  to  the  last  degree,  with  the  proceedings  of 
the  Convention. 

On  the  30th  March  1793,  he  recrossed  the  French  frontier 
with  the  design  of  handing  over  the  two  fortified  towns  of 
Lille  and  Valenciennes  to  the  Austrians  and  marching  at  the 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  59 

head  of  his  own  Army  to  Paris  to  restore  order  and  the  Mon- 
archy in  the  person  either  of  the  Dauphin,  now  titular  King 
Louis  XVIII.,  or  of  the  young  Duke  of  Chartres,  Philip 
Egalite's  eldest  son.  Meanwhile  the  Convention  sent  Beurnon- 
ville.  Minister  of  War,  and  the  representatives  Lamarque,  Ca- 
mus, Blancal  and  Quinette  to  arrest  the  General.  The  dele- 
gates arrived  at  the  Camp  of  Saint  Amand,  Dumouriez's  camp, 
on  the  2d  April.  They  proceeded  at  once  to  his  quarters  and 
read  to  him  the  Decree  of  the  Convention  summoning  him 
to  Paris.  "  Do  you  suppose,"  replied  the  General,  "  that  I 
should  be  such  an  idiot  as  to  put  myself  in  the  clutches  of  the 
tigers  who  are  decimating  France."  Instantly  he  summoned  a 
troop  of  hussars  and  sent  the  Commissioners  to  the  Austrian 
headquarters.  The  next  day  he  harangued  his  troops,  but  fail- 
ing to  persuade  them  to  follow  him,  he  rode,  with  a  small 
escort,  to  the  Austrian  lines.  The  greater  part  of  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  was  spent  in  England.  Eecently  the  MS. 
of  an  elaborate  system  for  the  defence  of  England  has  been 
discovered  and  published  under  the  title  of  "Dumouriez  and 
the  Defense  of  England  against  Napoleon,  by  J.  Holland  Eose 
and  A.  M.  Broadley." 

This  book  contains  a  full  biography  of  Dumouriez,  and  I 
strongly  recommend  it  to  those  who  desire  to  study  his  adven- 
turous life  and  his  strangely  complex  and  interesting  char- 
acter. 

We  come  to  the  third  and  last  of  the  trio  of  whom  I  have 
spoken,  Marie  Joseph  Paul  Roche  Yves  Gilbert  de  Motier,  Mar- 
quis de  la  Fayette. 

La  Fayette  had  taken  so  great  a  part  in  drawing  up  the  Con- 
stitution of  1791  that  many  writers,  notably  William  Smyth, 
a  high  authority,  refers  to  it  invariably  as  the  Constitution  of 
La  Fayette.  At  this  period  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  his 
whole  heart  and  soul  were  set  on  its  maintenance.     He  was 


60  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

ready  to  make  any  sacrifice  to  preserve  such  semblance  as  the 
King  yet  possessed  of  authority,  to  hold  back  the  rising  tide  of 
democracy,  and  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  make  the  Constitu- 
tion a  workable  scheme  of  government.  It  was  not  the  least 
of  the  fatalities  which  combined  to  hurl  the  King  and  Queen 
into  the  abyss,  that  nothing  could  dispel  the  detestation  with 
which  they  both  regarded  La  Fayette. 

The  Queen  was  always  a  good  hater,  but  perhaps  in  no 
other  instance  did  Louis  XVI.  allow  his  resentment  to  over- 
come his  mild  and  docile  —  too  docile  —  nature. 

There  can,  I  think,  be  little  doubt  that  the  King  himself  as 
well  as  the  Queen  used  every  remnant  of  their  influence  to 
secure  the  election  of  Petion  to  the  Mayoralty  of  Paris  instead 
of  La  Fayette  in  November  1791,  a  blunder  which  was  literally 
fatal  to  themselves  and  their  family. 

Again  when  the  King  bestowed  the  rank  of  Marshal  of 
France  on  Eochambeau  and  Liickner  in  March  1792,  he  refused 
to  give  the  coveted  baton  to  La  Fayette,  although  his  command 
was  every  whit  as  important  as  that  of  either  of  his  col- 
leagues. 

The  efforts  which  La  Fayette  made  to  aid  the  royal  family, 
or  to  assist  in  their  escape  from  Paris,  met  with  the  cold  re- 
sponse of  Louis  XVI.  The  Queen  in  reply  to  Madame 
Elizabeth's  urgent  entreaties  that  she  should  trust  in  La 
Fayette,  replied,  "  It  is  better  to  perish  than  to  be  saved 
by  La  Fayette  and  the  Constitutionalists."  She  spoke  quite 
as  frankly  to  others.  To  one  she  said,  "  Mirabeau  used  to 
tell  us  that  if  war  broke  out.  La  Fayette  would  keep  the 
King  as  a  prisoner  in  his  tent " ;  to  another,  "  It  would  be  too 
dreadful  a  misfortune  to  owe  our  lives  to  that  man." 

La  Fayette's  letter  of  the  16th  June  has  been  frequently 
described  as  wanting  in  tact  and  discretion.  That  it  may 
have  had  some  influence  in  hastening  the  downfall  of  the 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  61 

Monarchy  is  possible;  that  it  gave  the  last  blow  to  his  own 
waning  popularity  is  certain.  We  are  all  too  apt  to  judge 
contemporary  occurrences  by  their  results,  which  their  authors 
could  not  by  any  human  insight  foresee.  Tact  and  discre- 
tion are  too  frequently  mere  synonyms  for  cowardice.  To 
my  mind  the  letter  is  a  noble  and  courageous  document. 
Had  La  Fayette  and  his  constitutionalist  colleagues  written 
and  acted  in  such  a  spirit  in  July  1789,  instead  of  tactfully 
and  discreetly  truckling  to  the  Paris  mob,  the  whole  story  of 
the  Eevolution  might  have  been  different.  The  letter  is  too 
long  to  be  given  in  full.  The  following  are  the  most  im- 
portant passages: 

"  The  public  welfare  is  in  peril.  The  fate  of  France  de- 
pends mainly  on  her  Representatives;  it  is  to  them  that  the 
nation  looks  for  salvation,  but  in  giving  itself  a  Constitution 
it  has  pointed  out  to  them  the  only  road  by  which  they  can 
travel  towards  safety. 

"  Your  internal  and  your  external  enemies  must  both  be  de- 
etroyed.  But  you  will  never  have  the  power  to  destroy  them 
unless  you  act  justly  and  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution. 
Look  around  you ;  can  you  deny  that  a  faction  —  and 
to  avoid  any  possibility  of  mistake,  I  will  say  at  once  the 
Jacobin  faction  —  has  caused  all  these  miseries.  It  is  to 
this  faction  solely  that  I  attribute  them.  Organized  as  if  they 
formed  a  separate  nation,  blindly  directed  by  a  few  ambitious 
leaders,  the  party  forms  a  body  apart  from  the  rest  of  the 
people,  whose  powers  it  usurps  by  overawing  its  representa- 
tives and  its  executive  officers.  It  is  here,  among  the  Jacobins, 
that  loyalty  to  the  Law  is  stigmatized  as  aristocracy,  and  vio- 
lation of  it,  patriotism.  Here  the  assassins  of  Desillcs  are 
received  in  triumph  and  the  armies  of  a  Jourdan  Coup-tete 
are  panegyrized,  .  .  .  Let  the  reign  of  the  Clubs,  annihi- 
lated by  your  prowess,  give  place  to  the  reign  of  the  law ;  their 


62  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

usurpation,  to  the  firm  and  independent  exercise  of  the  Consti- 
tutional Authorities;  their  maxims  of  anarchy,  to  the  true 
principles  of  liberty;  their  frantic  fury  to  the  magnanimous 
courage  of  a  Nation  which  recognizes  its  own  rights  and  knows 
how  to  defend  them." 

The  storm  of  debate  which  followed  the  reading  of  this  let- 
ter may  be  imagined.  After  raging  for  some  hours,  an  in- 
genious method  of  breaking  it  was  agreed  upon.  The  letter 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  of  Twelve  (which  contained  a 
Jacobin  majority)  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  La 
Fayette's  signature  were  genuine. 

Needless  to  say  it  never  emerged  from  the  hands  of  the 
Committee  and  was  consequently  neither  printed  nor  circu- 
lated throughout  the  Departments  as  La  Fayette  had  designed. 
Only  two  days  after  the  receipt  of  this  letter  by  the  Legislative 
Assembly,  came  the  invasion  of  the  Tuileries  by  the  mob,  20th 
June   1792. 

La  Fayette  determined  to  try  once  more  the  former  magic 
of  his  presence.  He  left  the  Army,  came  to  Paris  and  ap- 
peared before  the  Legislative  Assembly  to  declare  the  genuine- 
ness of  his  signature  and  to  denounce  the  outrage  of  the  20th 
June.  He  was  answered  by  Guadet,  who  in  the  course  of  an 
eloquent  oration  uttered  these  words:  "Why  is  the  General 
here  ?  Is  our  country  out  of  danger ;  is  the  enemy  vanquished  ? 
No,  the  country  is  not  sound ;  the  situation  remains  unchanged, 
and  yet  the  General  in  command  of  one  of  our  most  impor- 
tant Armies  is  here,  in  Paris."  Baffled  in  the  Assembly,  La 
Fayette  turned  to  the  National  Guard,  his  own  creation,  his 
children  as  he  loved  to  call  them,  hitherto  his  enthusiastic 
supporters.  He  ordered  a  review  of  the  first  division  of  the 
National  Guard  to  take  place  the  next  morning,  when  the 
King  was  to  pass  along  the  line  and  La  Fayette  was  to  address 
the  troops.     But  the  Mayor  Petion  was  informed  of  this  plan, 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  63 

the  King  declined  to  attend  it  and  the  review  did  not  take 
place.  It  is  said,  though  the  statement  is  hardly  credible,  that 
it  was  Marie  Antoinette  who  informed  Petion;  it  is  quite 
probable  that  she  dissuaded  the  King  from  taking  part  in  it. 
She  seems  indeed  to  have  dreaded  her  old  enemies.  La  Fayette 
and  the  Constitutionalists,  more  than  her  new  ones,  the  Jaco- 
bins. 

As  a  last  resource,  La  Fayette  then  summoned  all  the  Na- 
tional Guards  whom  he  could  still  influence  to  meet  at  his 
house.  Arrangements  were  then  made  for  a  second  meeting 
the  next  day  in  the  Champs  Elysees,  and  it  was  agreed  that 
if  three  hundred  guards  mustered  on  that  occasion.  La  Fayette 
should  lead  them  to  suppress  the  Jacobin  Club.  Scarcely  thirty 
men  had  the  courage  to  appear.  The  game  was  up  and  La 
Fayette  in  despair  returned  to  his  Army,  leaving  his  eflBgy 
to  be  burnt  by  every  mob  which  gathered  in  Paris,  and  the 
Clubs  and  Journals  to  denounce  "  Fayettisme  "  as  the  most 
dangerous  form  of  treason,  and  "  Fayettiste  "  as  worthy  only  of 
the  guillotine.  The  next  news  that  reached  him  told  of  the 
downfall  of  the  constitutional  monarchy  and  the  proclamation 
of  the  Republic. 

He  arrested  the  Commissioners  sent  by  the  Assembly  to 
administer  the  new  oath,  and  shut  them  up  in  the  citadel  of 
Sedan;  at  the  same  time  he  took  what  steps  he  could  to  raise 
the  Northern  Departments  against  the  Assembly  and  to  test 
the  loyalty  of  his  own  Army.  The  Assembly  promptly  de- 
creed his  arrest  and  sent  fresh  Commissioners  to  bring  him 
to  Paris.  Accompanied  by  three  of  his  former  colleagues  of 
the  Constituent  Assembly,  Bureaux  de  Puzy,  Alexandre  La- 
meth  and  Latour  Maubourg,  and  a  portion  of  his  Staff  he 
rode  across  the  French  frontier  on  the  night  of  the  19th,  20th 
August,  intending  to  pass  through  Holland  and  return  to  the 
United  States.     He  was  however  made  prisoner  by  the  Aus- 


64  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

trians,  and  after  much  ill-usage,  imprisoned  successively  at 
Glatz,  Neiss  and  Olmutz,  whence  he  did  not  emerge  until 
the  19th  September  1797,  when  he  was  released  after  the 
treaty  of  Campo  Formio,  in  consequence  of  the  insistence  of 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  who  had  been  commissioned  by  the  Di- 
rectory to  demand,  as  one  of  the  terms  of  the  Treaty,  the 
freedom  of  La  Fayette  and  his  companions  in  captivity. 

This  seizure  and  continued  imprisonment  was  contrary  to 
all  the  laws  of  war,  and  forms  a  dark  blot  on  the  Austrian 
Government.  At  the  same  time  it  is  well  to  remember  that 
had  he  fallen  into  the  hands  of  his  own  countrymen,  his  career 
would  have  been  promptly  cut  short  by  the  guillotine,  while 
his  unjust  imprisonment  left  him  free  to  oppose  each  suc- 
cessive government  and  to  play  his  part  of  a  Grandison-Crom- 
well  (the  epithet  is  Mirabeau's)  during  the  remainder  of  his 
long,  honourable,  but  always  ineffective  and  wrong-headed 
career.  Of  him  more  truly  than  of  any  of  the  Bourbons  it 
may  be  said  that  he  "  remembered  nothing  and  forgot  noth- 
ing." He  remained  the  Constitutionalist  member  of  the  left 
centre  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  up  to  the  day  of  his  death, 
at  the  age  of  77,  on  the  19th  May  1834.  I  dare  not  assert 
that  either  Narbonne,  Dumouriez,  La  Fayette,  or  the  Con- 
stitutionalists, taken  as  a  whole,  could  have  saved  the  King 
and  Queen.  From  the  time  when  the  Legislative  Assembly 
met  and  Petion  was  elected  Mayor  of  Paris  (October  and 
November  1791)  I  believe  the  Monarchy  to  have  been  doomed. 
But  that  is  to  Judge  by  the  course  of  events  which  is  known 
to  us,  but  of  which  contemporaries  knew  nothing. 

That  the  King,  and  still  more  the  Queen,  whose  spirit  was 
higher  and  more  buoyant,  erred  and  erred  fatally  in  throw- 
ing away  their  last  chance  by  rejecting  the  help  of  the  Con- 
stitutional leaders,  is  obvious.  They  were,  in  fact,  waiting 
for   the  intervention   of   the   Austrians   and   Prussians,   who 


-//!'   '.  ya  7/.('/yf' 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  '65 

could,  as  they  hoped,  restore  their  freedom,  make  life  toler- 
able to  them  and  enable  them  to  establish  a  limited  Monarchy, 
which  was  all  that  Louis  XVI.  desired.  No  summing  up  of 
the  case  for  the  Crown  can  be  better  expressed  than  by  Dr. 
"William  Smyth :  "  Those  may  blame  them  who  have  not 
known  what  misfortune  is;  what  it  is  to  seem  wedded  to 
calamity;  what  it  is  to  be  apparently  under  the  influence  of 
some  malignant  planet  that  marks  us  out  from  all  our  fellow- 
mortals  for  failure  and  for  ruin;  what  it  is  to  feel  how  little 
comfort  and  support  can  be  drawn,  after  the  event,  from  re- 
flecting on  being  told  by  others,  how  great  have  been  our  mis- 
takes or  how  evident  our  want  of  judgment." 

Here  I  must  conclude,  leaving  it  to  Bertrand  de  Moleville 
to  relate  the  events  of  the  years  1791-93,  fatal  alike  to  the 
King  and  Queen  and  to  those  faithful  subjects  who  served 
him  to  their  utmost. 

Throughout  his  Memoirs  Bertrand  frequently  assumes  that 
his  readers  are  acquainted  with  the  details  of  the  events  which 
he  describes.  These  details  were  fresh  in  the  memory  of 
contemporaries  but  are  now,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years,  more  or  less  forgotten. 

I  have  therefore  added  notes  to  each  volume,  giving  the 
briefest  possible  summary  of  such  days  as  the  20th  June; 
the  10th  August  and  the  2nd  and  3rd  September  1792.  I 
have  also  included  in  these  notes  explanations  of  institutional 
and  terms  now  obsolete  or  extinct,  such  as  the  Parlements, 
the  Intendants  and  the  like.  Finally  I  have  given  short 
biographical  notices  of  the  principal  persons  mentioned  by 
Bertrand.  These  notes  are  intended  only  for  those  who  have 
not  made  a  special  study  of  the  French  Revolution.  I  hope 
that  they  may  serve  as  a  modest  but  useful  commentary  on 
Bertrand's  own  narratives. 

Two  editions  of  these  Memoirs  have  appeared.     The  first 

yoL.  1—5 


'66  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

consisting  of  a  French  and  English  version,  each  in  three  vol- 
umes, published  simultaneously  by  Strahan  and  Cadell,  Lon- 
don, 1797.  The  second,  in  French  only,  by  Michaud,  Paris, 
1816. 

Strange  to  say,  although  the  Memoirs  of  Bertrand  are 
quoted  by  every  subsequent  writer,  great  or  small,  who  has 
dealt  with  the  history  of  the  period,  no  version  of  them  has 
since  been  produced  in  France  or  in  England,  although  the 
two  early  editions,  1797  and  1816,  have  become  exceedingly 
rare  and  difficult  to  obtain. 

After  some  hesitation  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  best  text  is  that  of  the  English  edition  of  1797.  In  some 
respects  the  Paris  issue  of  1816  is  fuller,  but  it  omits  a 
good  many  of  the  most  interesting  passages  and  produces  the 
general  effect  of  being  more  laboured  and  less  spontaneous 
than  the  earlier  version.  I  have  taken  very  few  liberties  with 
the  text  of  this  1797  edition.  In  a  few  cases  I  have  added 
proper  names  which  are  omitted  in  the  earlier,  and  inserted 
in  the  later  issue. 

I  have  also  modernized  the  spelling,  especially  in  the  case 
of  proper  and  place  names.  But  in  the  main,  I  have  made 
as  few  alterations  as  possible,  since  it  seems  to  me  that  the 
old-fashioned  or  even  archaic  sentences  which  occur  from  time 
to  time  add  to  the  interest,  by  lending  an  actuality  which 
would  be  missing  in  a  translation  of  the  work  into  the  Eng- 
lish of  to-day. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION', 


LIST  OF  BOOKS  WEITTEN"  OR  EDITED  BX, 
BERTRAND  DE  MOLEVILLE. 

(AH  books  and  pamphlets  written  or  edited  by  Bertrand  are 
included  in  this  list,  with  the  exception  of  his  official  reports 
and  speeches,  during  the  period  when  he  was  Minister  of  Ma- 
rine, 1791-92.) 

1.  Lettre  a  I'auteur  (Count  Condorcet)  de  I'filoge  du 
Chancelier  de  I'Hopital,  contenant  des  recherches  in- 
teressants  sur  I'histoire  du  regne  de  Henri  II.  (Anony- 
mous.)     (La  Haye,  et  Paris,  1778.) 

2.  Observations  adressees  a  I'Assemblee  des  Notables,  sur  la 
composition  des  Etats  Generaux  et  sur  la  forme  la 
plus  reguliere  de  les  convoyer.  (Anonymous.)  (Paris, 
1788.) 

3.  Lettre  de  M.  Bertrand  de  Moleville  au  President  de  la 
Convention  nationale   (on  his  emigration)    6  November 

1792.  (London,  1792.) 

4.  Seconde  Lettre  au  President  de  la  Convention  nationale. 
(On  the  charges  brought  against  Louis  XVI.)  16  No- 
vember  1792. 

5.  Denonciation  de  prevarications  commises  dans  le  proces 
de  Louis  XVI.,  adressee  k  la  Convention  nationale  par 
M.  Bertrand  de  Moleville,  8  Janvier  1793.  Londres,  et 
reimprime  a  Paris,  1793. 

'6.  Lettres  de  M.  Bertrand  de  Moleville  a  M.  le  President  de 
la  Convention  nationale  sur  les  poursuites  dirigees  contre 
M.  Bertrand  et  MM.  Vernier  et  Deflahaut,  11  Fevrier 

1793.  (London,  1793.^ 


68  EDITOR'S  INTEODUCTION. 

7.  Seconde  Lettre  et  pieces  justicatives  sur  les  poursuites 
dirigees  centre  M.  Bertrand  et  M.  Deflahaut.  15  Fev- 
rier   1793.     (London,  1793.) 

8.  Memoires  secrets  pour  servir  a  rhistoire  de  la  derniere 
annee  du  regne  de  Louis  XVI.,  Koi  de  France.  3  vol. 
London  1797. 

9.  Private  Memoirs  relative  to  the  last  year  of  the  Eeign  of 
Lewis  the  Sixteenth,  Late  King  of  France.  3  vol.  Lon- 
don, 1797. 

The  English  and  French  editions  of  this  work  were  is- 
sued simultaneously.  A  later  edition  was  published  differ- 
ing considerably  from  the  edition  of  1797  under  the  title: 

10.  Memoires  particuliers  pour  servir  a  I'histoire  de  Louis 
XVI.     2  vol.     (Paris,  1816.) 

11.  Annals  of  the  French  Eevolution;  or  a  chronological  ac- 
count of  its  principal  events ;  with  a  variety  of  Anecdotes 
and  Characters  hitherto  unpublished.  Translated  by  R. 
C.  Dallas,  Esq.,  from  the  original  manuscript  of  the  Au- 
thor, which  has  never  been  published.  4  vols,  covering 
the  period  from  August  1788  to  the  end  of  September 
1791.     (London,  1800.) 

12.  Annals  of  the  French  Pievolution.  The  second  edition. 
(This  is  not  a  second  edition  but  a  second  part,  con- 
taining the  history  from  October  1792  to  January  1793. 
The  vols,  are  numbered  5  to  9.)  5  vols.  (London, 
1809.) 

13.  Correspondence  between  M.  Bertrand  de  Moleville  and 
the  Hon.  Charles  James  Fox  upon  his  quotation  of  the 
"  x\nnals  of  the  French  Revolution  "  in  the  debate  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  on  the  3rd  of  February  1800.  With 
a  translation  by  R.  C.  Dallas.  (London,  1800).  A 
second  issue  was  published  a  few  weeks  after  the  first. 

14.  The  Costume  of  the  Hereditary  States  of  the  House  of 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  '69 

Austria,  in  fifty  coloured  engravings.  "With  descriptions 
and  an  introduction  (in  French)  by  M.  Bertrand  de 
Moleville.  Translated  by  E.  C.  Dallas.  (The  text  both 
in  French  and  English.)      (London,  1804.) 

15.  A  Eefutation  of  the  libel  on  the  Memory  of  the  late 
King  of  France,  published  by  Helen  Maria  Williams, 
under  the  title  of  Political  and  Confidential  Correspond- 
ence of  Lewis  the  Sixteenth.  Translated  from  the  orig- 
inal manuscript  by  K.  C.  Dallas. 

16.  Histoire  de  la  Eevolution  de  France,  pendant  les  der- 
nieres  annees  du  regne  de  Louis  XVI.  Premiere  partie, 
comprenant  les  annees  1788-1791  jusqu'a  la  fin  de  I'As- 
semblee  Constituante.  Deuxieme  partie,  comprenant  les 
annees  1791-1793  jusqu'a  la  mort  de  Louis  XVI. 
Troisieme  partie,  comprenant  les  annees  1794-1799, 
jusqu'a  I'avenement  du  Gouvernement  consulaire.  14  vol. 
(Paris,  1801-1803.) 

The  whole  book  was  published  under  the  name  of  Ber- 
trand de  Moleville,  but  the  third  part  (consisting  of  Vols. 
XI-XIV)  was  disclaimed  by  him,  and  is  the  work  of  De- 
lisle  de  Sales.  Memoires  du  Comte  de  Grammont.  ISTou- 
velle  edition,  par  A.  F.  de  Bertrand  de  Moleville.  2  vol. 
(London,  1811.) 

17.  A  Chronological  Abridgment  of  the  History  of  Great 
Britain  from  the  first  invasion  of  the  Eomans  to  the  year 
1763.     4  vols.     (London,  1812.) 

18.  An  abridged  edition  of  this  work  in  one  volume  with  the 
same  title  was  published  in  London,  1813. 

19.  Either  the  original  French  text,  or  a  retranslation  into 
French  was  published  in  1815,  under  the  title  "  Histoire 
d'Angleterre  depuis  la  premiere  invasion  des  Eomains 
jusqu'a  la  paix  de  17G3."     6  vols.     (Paris,  1815.) 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  OF  EVENTS  FROM  THE 
21  JUNE  1791  TO  THE  10  AUGUST  1792.  ^ 

1791.  21  June  Flight  of  the  Eoyal  Family  to  Varennes. 

25  June  Return  of  the  Royal  Family  to  Paris. 

27-28  June  The  three  Deputies  appointed  to  receive 
the  depositions  of  the  King  and  Queen, 
attend  at  the  Tuileries. 

13  July  Decree  suspending  the  King  until  he  ac- 

cepts the  Constitution. 

17  July  Meeting  in  the  Champ  de  Mars  to  demand 

the    dethronement    of    the    King.     The 
"  Massacre  "  of  the  Champ  de  Mars. 
30  July  Decree  suppressing  Decorations  and  Or- 

ders of  Knighthood. 
5  Aug.  Completion  of  the  Constitution  reported 

to  the  Assembly.     Order  for  its  revision. 
22  Aug.  Rising  of  the  Slaves  in  San  Domingo  and 

Massacre  of  Planters  and  others. 
25  Aug.  to       Elections  to  the  Legislative  Assembly  take 

4  Sept.  place. 

27  Aug.  Declaration  of  the  Emperor  and  King  of 

Prussia  signed  at  Pilnitz. 
3  Sept.  The  Constitution  passed  by  the  Assembly. 

14  Sept.  The  King  takes  the  Oath  of  Fidelity  to 

the  Constitution. 
14  Sept.  Annexation  of  Avignon  and    the   Comte 

Venaisson  to  France. 

18  Sept.  Fetes  throughout  France  in  honour  of  the 

Constitution. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  71 

1791.  30  Sept.  The  Constituent  Assembly  dissolved. 

1  Oct.  The  Legislative  Assembly  meets. 

4  Oct.  Bertrand  de  Moleville  appointed  to  the 

Ministry  of  Marine.  (Resigns  15  March 
1792.) 

5  Oct.  Decree  ordering  the  disuse  of  the  terms 

Sire  and  Majesty,  and  directing  that  the 
King's  chair  shall  be  on  the  same  level  as 
that  of  the  President.  (This  decree  "was 
repealed  on  the  following  day.) 

16  Oct.  Letter  of  the  King  to  his  brothers,  the 

Counts  Provence  and  Artois,  ordering 
them  to  return  to  France.  (In  reply  the 
princes  state  that  they  will  return  as  soon 
as  they  are  satisfied  that  the  King  is  in 
enjoyment  of  his  liberty.) 

28  Oct.  Two  Decrees  against  the  Emigres  passed 

(1)  Ordering  the  Count  de  Provence  to 
return  within  two  months  under  pain  of 
losing  his  right  to  act  as  Regent,  (3)  De- 
claring that  Frenchmen  who  have  formed 
themselves  into  armed  bodies  in  foreign 
countries  are  guilty  of  Treason,  and  that 
those  who  remain  after  the  1st  January 
1792,  shall  be  punishable  by  death. 

31  Oct  Massacres  of  more  than  sixty  persons  by 

mobs  under  the  leadership  of  Jourdan 
"  Coup-tete." 

12  Nov.  The  King  sanctions  the  decree  of  the  28 

Oct.  relating  to  the  Count  de  Provence  but 
vetoes  the  second  decree  against  the 
Emigres. 


72  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

1791.  12  Nov.  The  King  issues  a  Proclamation  calling 

on  the  Emigres  to  return  to  France. 

14  Nov.  Petion  elected  Mayor  of  Paris. 

16  Nov.  Duportail  appointed  to  the  Ministry  of 

War.     (Eesigned  2  Dec.  1791.) 

27  Nov.  Eesignation  of  the  Ministry  of  Foreign 

Affairs  by  Montmorin,  (Appointed  15 
July   1789.) 

28-29  Nov.  Appointment  of  de  Lessart  to  the  Minis- 
try of  Foreign  Affairs  and  of  Cahier  de 
Gerville  to  that  of  the  Interior.  (De 
Lessart  resigned  17  March,  and  Gerville 
22  March   1792.) 

29  Nov.  Decree  withdrawing  pensions  from  "  un- 

sworn "  priests ;  ordering  them  to  be 
placed  under  the  surveillance  of  the  De- 
partmental Authorities  and  to  be  banished 
should  any  religious  troubles  arise. 

5  Dec.  The  Department  of  the  Seine  petitions  the 

King  to  veto  the  Decree  of  the  29  Nov. 
against  the  clergy. 

6  Dec.  Narbonne  appointed  to  the  Ministry  of 

War.     (Dismissed  10  March  1792.) 
14  Dec.  The  King  notifies  to  the  Assembly  in  per- 

son, the  Declaration  which  he  has  made  to 
foreign  Sovereigns  that  those  who  protect 
armed  Emigres  after  the  1st  January 
1792,  will  be  held  to  be  at  war  with 
France. 
19  Dec.  He  vetoes  the  Decree  of  the  29th  Nov. 

against  the  "  unsworn  "  priests. 
21  Dec.  Narbonne  sets  out  on  his  Military  Inspec- 

tion of  the  Northern  Departments. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


73 


1792.  23-24  Jan. 

9  Feb. 

1  March 

3  March 
10  March 

10  March 

15  March 
17  March 

23  March 

30  March 

6  April 
13  April 
15  April 


First  pillage  of  grocers'  shops  by  the  Paris 
mobs. 

Decree  ordering  the  sequestration  of  the 
property  of  Emigres. 
Death  of  the  Emperor  Leopold  II.  and 
succession  of  his  son,  Francis  II. 
Murder  of  Simoneau,  Mayor  of  Etampes. 
De  Grave  appointed  to  the  Ministry  of 
"War  in  succession  to  Narbonne,  dismissed, 
(designed  8  May  1792.) 
Decree  of  Accusation  of  Treason  pressed 
against  M.  De  Lessart,  who  is  sent  for 
trial  before  the  High  Court  at  Orleans. 
Lacoste  appointed  to  the  Ministry  of  Ma- 
rine.    (Eesigned  21  July  1792.) 
Dumouriez  appointed  to  the  Ministry  of 
Foreign  Affairs.     (Transferred  to  Minis- 
try of  War  13  June;  resigned  17  June 
1792.) 

Claviere  appointed  to  the  Ministry  of 
Finances  and  Eoland  to  the  Ministry  of 
the  Interior.  (Both  were  dismissed  13 
June  1792.) 

Decree  appropriating  the  property  of  the 
Emigres  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
war. 

Decree  forbidding  ecclesiastics  to  wear  a 
distinctive  costume. 

Duranthon  appointed  to  the  Ministry  of 
Justice.     (Eesigned  3  July,  1792.) 
Fete  in  honour  of  the  mutinous  soldiers 
of  the  Chateau- Vieux  Regiment. 


74  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

1792.  20  April  Declaration  of  War  against  Austria. 

28  April  Sortie  of  the  French  from  Lille.     The 

troops  seized  with  panic.    Murder  of  Gen- 
eral T.  Dillon. 

30  April  Attack  of  the  French  under  General  Biron 

on  Mons.     Troops  again  seized  with  panic, 
and  abandon  the  camp. 
9  May  Servan  appointed  to  the  Ministry  of  War. 

'(Dismissed  13  June.) 

16  May  La  Fayette's  Letter  to  the  General  Assem- 

bly. 

27  May  Decree  ordering  that  "unsworn"  priests 

should    be    banished    at    the    request    of 
twenty  citizens  of  a  Canton. 

29  May  Decree  disbanding  the  King's   Constitu- 

tional Guard  and  sending  the  Duke  de 

Brissac  to  be  tried  by  the  High  Court  at 

Orleans. 
1  June  Fete  in  honour  of  Simoneau,  Mayor  of 

Etampes. 
8  June  Decree  ordering  the  formation  of  a  Camp 

of  twenty-thousand  "  Federes  "  under  the 

walls  of  Paris. 
10  June  "  The  petition  of  eight  thousand  "  against 

the  Camp  of  the  "  Federes." 
13  June  Dumouriez  transferred  to  the  Ministry  of 

War. 
13-14  June      Beaulieu  appointed  to  the  Ministry  of  Fi- 
nance.    Mourgues  to  that  of  the  Interior ; 

and  ISTaillac  to  that  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

Mourgues   and   Naillac   resigned   on   the 

17th  and  18th  June;  Beaulieu  on  the  28 

July  1792. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  75 

1792.  18-19  June  The  King  appoints  "  La  Fayettist "  Minis- 
try, consisting  of  Chamboras,  Lajard,  Ter- 
rier du  Monciel,  Beaulieu  and  Dejoby. 

19  June  The  King  vetoes  the  decrees  of  the  27 

May,  against  the  Clergy,  and  of  the  8th 
June  on  the  Camp  of  the  Federes. 

20  June  Invasion  of  the  Tuileries  by  the  Paris 

mob. 

28  June  La  Fayette  appears  at  the  bar  of  the  As- 

sembly to  demand  the  prosecution  of  the 
author  of  the  invasion  of  the  Tuileries  on 
June  20th. 

30  June  Marshal  Liickner  evacuates  Ypres,  Mencin 

and  Courtrai. 
1  July  "  Petition  of  the  Twenty  Thousand  "  de- 

manding the  prosecution  of  the  authors  of 
the  Invasion  of  the  Tuileries  on  June  20th. 
6  July  The  Department  of  the  Seine  orders  the 

dismissal  of  Petion  from  the  Mayoralty. 
The  King  sanctions  the  order,  but  the 
Legislative   Assembly  revokes   it  on  the 
13th  July. 
.7  July  The  members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly 

fall  on  each  others'  necks,  and  greet  the 
King  with  cries  of  "  Vive  le  Eoi."  This 
hysterical  exhibition  is  known  as  the 
"  Kisses  of  Lamoureth,"  after  Lamoureth, 
Constitutional  Bishop  of  Lyons. 

10  July  All  the   Ministry  appointed  on  the    18, 

19  June  1792  resign  on  the  ground  that 
they  are  powerless  to  resist  Anarchy. 

11  July  The  decree  of  "  The  Country  in  danger  " 

passed. 


76  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 

1793.  14  July  Third  celebration  of  the  Fete  of  the  Fed- 

eration. The  King  hissed  and  only  saved 
from  violence  by  the  National  Guard. 
Cries  are  raised  of  "  Long  live  Petion " 
and  "  Petion  or  Death." 

21-23  July  Appointment  of  Dubouchaye  to  Ministry 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  Champion  de  Ville- 
neuve  to  the  Ministry  of  Interior  and 
d'Abancourt  to  the  Ministry  of  War. 
(All  three  were  superseded  after  the  10th 
August.) 

26  July  Assembly  decree  that  a  portion  of  the  Gar- 

dens of  the  Tuileries  known  as  the  "  Ter- 
rasse  des  Feuillants  "  form  part  of  their 
"  Enceinte  "  and  throw  them  open. 

30  July  Arrival  of  the  main  body  of  the  Marseill- 

ais,  500  strong. 
1  Aug.  Bigot  de  Saint  Croix  to  the  Ministry  of 

Foreign  Affairs  and  of  Leroux  de  La- 
ville  to  the  Ministry  of  Finance.  (Both 
were   superseded   after   the   10   August.) 

10  Aug.  The  second  Invasion  of  the  Tuileries.     At 

10  a.  m.  the  King  and  Royal  Family  take 
refuge  in  the  Assembly.  They  remain 
there  until  the  13  August. 

11  Aug.  Decree  of  the  Assembly  ordering  that  a 

Convention  shall  be  summoned;  that  the 
King  shall  be  suspended  and  lodged  with 
his  family  in  the  Luxembourg  and  that  a 
Governor  shall  be  appointed  for  the  Dau- 
phin. 

12  Aug.  The  Decree  as  to  the  custody  of  the  King 

and  Royal  Family  is  repealed,  and  they 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION.  Y7 

are  placed  in  the  custody  of  the  Munici- 
pality. 
1793.  13  Aug.  The  King  and  Eoyal  Family  taken  by  the 

orders  of  the  Municipality  to  the  Luxem- 
bourg. 


INTRODUCTION. 

BY  BERTRAND  DE  MOLEVILLE. 

While  I  was  employed  in  arranging  the  various  notes  and 
observations  which  I  had  made  on  those  incidents  of  the 
French  Eevolution,  in  which  I  myself  was  principally  con- 
cerned, I  had  no  intention  that  the  following  Memoirs  should 
be  published  during  my  lifetime.  My  chief  view,  in  this 
work,  was  to  do  justice  to  the  character  of  Louis  XVI.;  to 
detect  the  calumnies  invented  by  the  most  wicked  of  men 
to  justify  the  dethroning,  imprisoning,  and  murdering  the 
most  virtuous  of  Kings.  Placed  in  situations  that  afforded 
me  opportunities  of  knowing  the  principles  on  which  his  Maj- 
esty acted,  and  the  motives  of  his  conduct  at  a  most  important 
crisis,  I  consider  myself  as  a  necessary  witness  in  the  great  cause 
between  Louis  XYI.  and  his  murderers,  of  which  posterity  is 
to  judge. 

My  first  design  was,  that  these  Memoirs,  containing  my 
personal  testimony  respecting  all  the  facts  within  my  knowl- 
edge, should  be  reserved  for  the  impartial  judgment  of  future 
ages;  but  it  has  been  suggested  to  me,  that  the  facts  would 
derive  a  greater  degree  of  authenticity  from  their  being  sub- 
mitted to  the  contradiction  of  all  contemporaries,  who  think 
themselves  interested  in  refuting  them ;  that  the  truth  of  these 
Memoirs  may  be  brought  to  the  test  of  that  cross-examination, 
I  have  been  prevailed  on  not  to  defer  their  publication  any 
longer. 

The  honour  of  the  French  nation  loudly  demands  that  all 
the  manoeuvres,  intrigues,  and  conspiracies  that  brought  on 


80  INTRODUCTION. 

the  present  Revolution  should  be  laid  open ;  that  all  the  facts 
should  be  known;  that  the  real  criminals  should  be  branded 
for  the  justification  of  the  innocent;  that  the  authors  of  such 
general  calamity  and  of  so  many  atrocities  may  not  be  con- 
founded with  their  numerous  victims.  Truth  and  justice 
shall  trace  the  line  which  ought  to  distinguish  and  separate 
the  errors  which  produced  and  favoured  the  Revolution,  from 
the  horrible  crimes  which  disgraced  it.  This  separation  will 
exhibit  on  one  side  but  a  small  number  of  men,  the  greatest 
portion  and  the  most  blood-thirsty  of  the  guilty  having  al- 
ready been  overtaken  by  the  Divine  vengeance.  On  the  other 
side  will  appear  the  whole  French  nation,  composed  of  dif- 
ferent parties,  now  more  divided  by  their  recollections  than 
by  their  opinions;  for  the  greater  part,  enlightened  by  time 
and  by  misfortune,  detest  those  whose  exaggerations  led  them 
astray;  they  are  now  more  estranged  by  the  hatred  which  they 
suppose  in  each  other,  than  by  that  which  they  really  feel; 
all  are  harassed  by,  and  disgusted  with  the  Revolution ;  all  feel 
the  necessity  of  a  general  union  to  obtain  the  establishment 
of  that  order  and  tranquillity  for  which  they  all  sigh,  and  are 
willing  to  purchase  by  reciprocal  sacrifices,  and  by  the  ob- 
livion of  all  injuries  and  resentments.  How  can  they  refuse 
to  forget  and  forgive  the  consequences  of  errors,  into  which 
almost  every  individual  of  the  French  nation  has  been  led; 
for  there  is  hardly  one  who  did  not  wish  for  some  change  in 
the  Government,  at  a  period  when  the  minds  of  men  were 
in  such  a  state  of  exaltation,  that  the  ancient  edifice  of  the 
Constitution  was  in  danger  of  being  totally  overturned,  if 
at  all  attacked  ?  To  vows  imprudently  made,  to  the  chimerical 
and  ambitious  hopes  of  hot-headed  and  factious  men;  to  an 
inconsiderate  desire  for  a  new  order  of  things,  was  owing  that 
general  fermentation,  of  which  a  class  of  men,  as  artful  as 


INTRODUCTION.  81 

perfidious,  took  advantage,  to  throw  all  into  confusion.  Since 
then  every  one  has,  in  some  way  or  other,  helped  on  the  Revo- 
lution, this  ought  to  produce  a  reciprocal  forgiveness,  as  uni- 
versal as  the  errors  from  which  it  originated  —  I  say  the  er- 
rors, not  the  crimes;  for  I  am  far  from  thinking  that  certain 
execrable  deeds,  objects  of  everlasting  shame  and  grief  to  the 
French  nation,  will  ever  be  forgiven  by  it.  But  fortunately 
the  greatest  criminals,  the  chiefs  of  the  Regicide  faction,  no 
longer  exist;  and  among  those  of  their  accomplices,  who  have 
the  misfortune  to  be  still  alive,  how  few  there  are  who  were 
not  driven  by  threats  and  by  terror,  rather  than  prompted 
by  native  wickedness,  and  who  would  not  expiate  the  crime  of 
their  cowardice,  if  remorse  could  expiate  such  a  crime. 

It  is  known  that  the  Deputy  Vergniaud  ^  seemed  in  despair, 

1  Pierre  Victorien  Vergniaud,  an  advocate  of  Bordeaux,  owed  his 
early  education  to  Turgot,  who,  when  Intendant  of  the  Limousin, 
gave  him  a  bursarship  at  the  College  du  Plessis,  Paris.  He  was  ad- 
mitted as  an  Advocate  in  1781  and  soon  obtained  a  large  practice  at 
the  bar.  In  1790  he  made  a  speech  of  great  power  and  eloquence  on 
Mirabeau,  which  probably  gained  him  his  seat  in  the  Legislative  As- 
sembly. On  his  arrival  in  Paris  he  at  once  joined  the  Jacobin  Club 
and  soon  became  recognized  as  the  finest  orator  in  the  Legislative 
Assembly. 

Indeed  there  are  many  who  hold  him  to  be  the  greatest  speaker 
produced  by  the  Revolution.  The  reader  of  to-day,  though  occasionally 
wearied  by  the  constant  classical  allusions  common  to  all  the  orators  of 
the  period,  can  hardly  read  without  emotion,  the  great  speeches  of 
Vergniaud,  who  when  strongly  moved,  rises  to  the  highest  flow  of  so- 
norous, lofty  and  impassioned  eloquence.  In  his  case,  as  in  that  of 
most  of  the  Girondists,  it  is  difficult  to  say  exactly  what  his  imme- 
diate aim  was.  His  ideal  form  of  Government  was  a  Republic,  but 
he  often  trod  with  strangely  uncertain  steps  towards  it.  Thus  in  July 
1792,  Vergniaud  immediately  after  an  attack  upon  the  King  himself, 
as  envenomed  as  it  was  powerful,  joined  with  Guadet  and  Gen- 
6onn6  in  secret  negotiations  with  Louis  XVI.  engaging  to  save  his 
throne  and  person  if  the  King  would  consent  to  restore  the  Giron- 
dist ex-Ministers  Roland,  Clavifere  and  Servan.  The  tenth  of  Au- 
VOL.  1—6. 


82  INTRODUCTION. 

and  passed  the  whole  night  immediately  after  the  King's  con- 
demnation in  tears;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  same  night 
was  as  dreadful  to  all  his  colleagues,  if  we  except  a  small  num- 
ber of  consummate  villains,  who  in  their  absurd  ferocity  de- 
clared in  the  National  Assembly  that  Louis  XVI.  deserved 
death  for  the  single  crime  of  being  a  King,  and  condemned 
him  merely  because  they  wished  to  destroy  royalty. 

In  spite  of  the  fermentation,  and  almost  madness,  that  agi- 
tated France  after  the  10th  of  August  and  3d  of  September 
1792,  I  am  convinced,  that  if  the  National  Convention  had 
been  able  to  thrust  from  among  them  a  few  sanguinary  mon- 
sters,—  the  Eobespierres,  the  Marats,  the  Cuthons,  the  St. 
Justs,  the  Collot  d'Herbois',  the  Barreres,  etc. —  the  prevail- 
ing sentiment  in  the  Assembly  respecting  the  King,  would 
have  been  a  sentiment  of  veneration  for  his  virtues,  and  com- 
passion for  his  misfortunes;  and  had  it  not  been  repressed  by 
terror  from  the  assassins  who  surrounded  them,  what  fol- 
lows would  have  been  the  language,  as,  I  am  persuaded,  it 

gust,  followed  by  the  September  Massacres,  rapidly  taught  Vergniaud 
and  his  colleagues  that  the  Republic  which  was  inevitable  would 
prove  the  exact  reverse  of  the  orderly  classical  government  of  which 
they  dreamed. 

Elected  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  Representatives  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Gironde  in  the  Convention,  he  became  the  recognised 
leader  of  that  party,  and  was  enthusiastically  supported  in  his  at- 
tacks upon  Danton,  Marat  and  the  Municipality  of  Paris.  His  con- 
duct during  the  trial  of  Louis  XVI.  produced  a  deep  and  evil  in- 
fluence on  his  colleagues  and  gave  to  many  of  them  who  were  waver- 
ing in  their  intentions,  an  excuse  to  take  the  path  of  immediate  safety 
by  voting  for  the  King's  execution.  Vergniaud  first  voted  for  the 
appeal  to  the  Nation;  when  that  appeal  was  rejected  he  found  himself 
obliged  to  vote  directly  for  or  against  the  sentence  of  death.  He 
was  at  the  time  President  of  the  Convention.  Descending  from  the 
President's  chair  and  mounting  the  Tribune  he  spoke  thus:  "I  have 
voted  in  favour  of  submitting  the  judgment  of  the  Convention  to  the 
sanction  of  the  People. 

"  In  my  opinion  considerations  of  the  highest  political  value  make 
this  submission  the  obvious  duty  of  the  Convention. 


INTRODUCTION.  83 

expresses  the  feelings  of  that  Assembly :  "  The  monarchy  is 
overthrown,  but  not  by  us;  it  is  the  effect  of  that  Constitu- 
tion which,  by  removing  from  the  throne  all  strength  and  all 
support,  rendered  its  fall  inevitable.  The  public  voice,  on 
which  all  our  power  depends,  now  loudly  calls  for  a  new  order 
of  things:  the  people,  declared  free  and  sovereign,  wish  to 
begin  the  exercise  of  their  sovereignty:  the  people  call  for  a 
republic,  and  as  the  call  is  general,  it  is  our  duty  to  acquiesce, 
even  if  their  desire  were  more  unreasonable;  and  their  prefer- 
ence of  a  republican  form  of  government  seems  the  less 
equivocal,  that  it  has  been  manifested  during  the  reign  of  one 
of  the  mildest  Monarchs,  one  so  worthy  of  the  throne,  and  so 
formed  for  inspiring  the  people  with  a  love  of  royalty.  But 
we  will  impose  no  hardship  that  is  not  indispensably  con- 
nected with  our  submission  to  the  will  of  the  nation;  we  will 
show  ourselves  worthy  of  being  the  Representatives  of  France 
by  our  respect  for  your  virtues  and  your  misfortunes,  and  by 
our  eagerness  to  record  your  benevolence,  and  by  doing  all 

"  But  the  Convention  has  decided  otherwise  and  I  obey  its  decision 
with  a  clear  conscience. 

"  We  have  now  to  decide  upon  the  punishment  which  is  to  be  in- 
flicted upon  Louis.  I  declared  yesterday  that  I  held  him  to  be  guilty 
of  conspiracy  against  the  freedom  and  welfare  of  the  Nation.  I  can- 
not to-day  hesitate  as  to  his  punishment.  It  is  the  Law  which  speaks 
for  death."  Proscribed,  with  twenty-one  other  Gironds  on  the  31st 
May  and  2nd  June,  Vergniaud  made  no  attempt  to  escape.  Before  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunal  he  uttered  the  famous  epigram :  "  The  Rev- 
olution is  like  Saturn;  it  devours  its  own  children."  Refusing  to 
use  a  poison  which  Condorcet  had  given  him,  he  mounted  the  scaf- 
fold with  his  colleagues  on  the  31st  October  1793  and  was  guillotined 
at  the  age  of  40.  I  have  not  met  elsewhere  with  the  statement  that 
Vergniaud  passed  the  night  after  the  King's  condemnation  in  tears; 
but  it  is  by  no  means  improbable,  for  he  was  a  man  not  only  of 
greater  intellect  and  deeper  thought  than  the  majority  of  his  col- 
leagues, but  of  a  kindlier  and  more  gentle  disposition;  his  defects 
were  indolence  and  the  want  of  active  courage.  In  more  peaceful 
times  he  might  have  risen  to  greatness,  but  he  was  unfitted  for  the 
sound  and  fury  in  the  midst  of  which  his  lot  was  caaL 


84  INTRODUCTION. 

justice  to  your  good  intentions.  Do  you  yourself  choose  your 
future  abode,  and  wherever  you  go  be  assured,  that  you  will 
be  accompanied  by  our  sympathy,  our  love,  and  our  gratitude ; 
and  that  the  republic  will  ever  consider  itself  as  bound  by  the 
most  sacred  ties  to  secure  to  you  and  your  family  a  most  hon- 
ourable retreat.  Allow  us  calmly  to  make  the  most  danger- 
ous perhaps,  but  certainly  the  most  important,  experiment  that 
a  nation  can  make;  whatever  the  event  may  be,  it  will  decide 
the  great  problem  respecting  the  sovereignty  of  the  people, 
the  bounds  of  political  liberty,  and  whether  a  steady  repub- 
lican government  can  be  established  in  a  great  empire ;  we  shall 
at  least  have  the  glory  of  having  devoted  ourselves  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  a  great  and  useful  example  or  lesson  to 
mankind.  Advise  the  foreign  States,  your  allies,  not  to  inter- 
meddle with  our  affairs;  for  if  they  force  us  into  a  war,  the 
whole  French  nation  will  unite  to  punish  them,  and  to  show 
the  world  that  numerous  armies,  composed  of  men  inspired 
with  the  enthusiasm  of  liberty,  and  armed  in  defence  of  their 
rights,  are  invincible.  Above  all,  advise  the  royalists  not  to 
shov/  themselves  our  enemies;  we  bear  no  ill-will  to  them; 
we  can  never  hate  those  who  are  your  sincere  friends;  do  not 
let  them  prolong,  by  fruitless  efforts,  a  contest,  the  issue  of 
which  interests  them  as  much  as  us.  If  the  French  people  are 
really  happier  under  a  repu1:)lican  government,  than  they  were 
under  monarchy,  your  well-known  love  for  them  convinces  us 
that  their  happiness,  to  a  mind  benevolent  and  disinterested 
as  yours,  would  prove  a  compensation  for  your  own  sacri- 
fices. Such  was  the  sentiment  that  Louis  XVI.  expressed  to 
the  Deputy  Manuel,  when  he  announced  to  him  in  the  Tem- 
ple, that  the  Xational  Assembly  had  decreed  a  Republic.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  if  our  hopes  should  be  frustrated ;  if  it 
shall  be  demonstrated  by  the  result  of  the  present  trial,  that 
monarchy,  prudently  limited,  is  the  happiest  form  of  govern- 


INTRODUCTION.  85 

ment,  and  the  only  one  suitable  to  France,  we  will  be  glad  to 
return  to  our  beloved  monarch;  our  hands  will  rebuild  his 
throne  on  so  firm  a  foundation,  that  it  shall  never  more  be 
shaken.  "We  will  invest  you  with  a  power,  whose  limits  shall 
be  no  restraint  on  the  authority  of  a  good  King." 

Such,  I  say,  would  have  been  the  determination  of  the 
great  majority  of  the  National  Assembly  after  the  10th  of 
August  1792,  if  they  had  not  been  under  the  influence  of  ter- 
ror; if  the  monsters  above  enumerated  had  never  existed;  and 
if,  as  Grangeneuve  -  declared  in  the  Assembly  on  the  16th 

2  Jean  Antoine  Grangeneuve,  an  Advocate  of  Bordeaux,  was  one  of 
the  deputies  of  the  Department  of  the  Gironde  to  the  Legislative  As- 
sembly. 

In  the  Legislative  Assembly,  he  took  a  violent  part  against  Louis 
XVI.  At  the  first  sitting  he  proposed  that  the  terms  Majesty  and 
Sire  should  be  henceforth  abolished.  He  was  also  the  first  to  wear 
the  red  Phrygian  "  Cap  of  Liberty  "  in  the  Assembly.  But  time  and 
experience  modified  his  democratic  ardour.  The  words  to  which 
Bertrand  alludes,  which  were  spoken  in  giving  judgment  on  the  King, 
were :  "  It  cannot  be  denied  that  every  device  and  influence  have 
been  used  to  wring  from  the  National  Convention,  a  sentence  of 
death. 

"  In  such  circumstances  I  can,  less  than  ever,  accept  or  exercise 
the  sovereign  power  in  criminal  cases,  which  is  attributed  to  us.  I 
can  only  act  as  one  charged  to  defend  the  public  interests.  If  it 
could  be  proved  to  me  that  nothing  but  the  death  of  Louis  could 
make  the  Republic  free  and  prosperous,  I  would  vote  for  his  death, 
but  it  is  on  the  contrary  perfectly  clear  to  me  that  this  event  can 
only  produce  the  greatest  evils  and  no  advantages  whatever. 

"  There  is  no  instance  in  history  where  tlie  liberty  of  a  Nation  has 
depended  on  the  death  of  any  one  individual.  Liberty  depends  on 
public  opinion  and  on  the  will  to  be  Free.  I  therefore  refuse  to  vote 
for  the  death  of  Louis  XVI."  I  have  quoted  Grangeneuve's  speecli 
somewhat  fully,  because  it  is  a  pleasure  to  read  the  words  of  a  brave 
man.  His  sentiments  were  those  of  the  whole  Girondist  party,  but 
hardly  any  other  members  dared  to  speak  them  openly  in  that  terror- 
stricken  hall,  witli  the  howling  mob  waiting  to  greet  every  word 
with  shrieks  of  applause  or  savage  fury,  and  with  the  recollection 
of  the  September  Massacres  still  ringing  through  tlie  brain  of  eacli 
speaker  as  he  mounted  the  Tribune.  Naturally,  there  was  no  escajje, 
save  by  happy  accident,  for  such  a  man  as  Grangeneuve. 


86  INTRODUCTION. 

of  January  1793,  every  means  that  could  operate  on  the 
minds  of  men  had  not  been  put  in  force,  to  draw  from  them 
individually  the  sentence  of  condemnation  against  the  King, 
which,  after  all,  was  obtained  by  a  very  small  majority. 

If  the  measure  above  indicated,  as  moderate,  as  prudent, 
as  generous,  perhaps,  as  the  circumstances  would  admit,  had 
been  adopted,  the  National  Convention  would  have  discon- 
certed and  disarmed  all  the  opposing  parties  within  the  king- 
dom; and  the  neighbouring  nations,  instead  of  attacking  the 
Revolution,  would  have  contemplated  its  course  with  that  silent 
attention  and  astonishment  which  a  gre^t  and  important  phe- 
nomenon never  fails  to  excite. 

If  the  rapacious  ambition  of  any  foreign  Power  had 
prompted  it  at  that  critical  period  to  declare  war  against 
France,  with  a  view  to  seize  on  some  of  her  provinces,  the 
just  cause  which  the  French  armies  would  in  that  case  have 
sustained,  must  have  secured  them  victory;  and  every  French- 
man would  at  this  moment  rejoice  in  their  success  and  par- 
ticipate in  their  glory. 

"  0  my  countrymen !  whatever  have  been,  whatever  are 
your  political  opinions,  I  read  in  your  hearts  the  sentiments 
I  have  just  expressed;  I  hear  your  groans  on  account  of  the 
disasters,  the  horrors  that  the  Eevolution  has  produced.  You 
all  wish  it  were  possible  to  bury  them  in  eternal  oblivion. 
But  is  this  sensibility  to  exhale  in  barren  lamentations?  and 
shall  your  well-founded  sorrow  for  the  wrongs  which  cannot 
be  repaired,  prevent  your  adopting  the  best  remedy  for  those 

Proscribed  by  the  Decree  of  the  2nd  June  1793,  he  took  refuge  at 
Bordeaux,  where  he  had  many  friends.  On  the  18th  July  he  was 
placed  "  Hors  la  loi  "  and  being  discovered  three  days  later  was  guil- 
lotined without  trial.  A  street  in  Bordeaux  preserves  his  name  for 
future  generations.  Bertrand,  in  this  passage,  speaks  of  the  King's 
sentence  as  voted  by  a  "  small  majority."  Aa  a  matter  of  fact  the 
vote  for  death  (after  the  appeal  to  the  Nation  had  been  rejected) 
had  a  majority  of  one  vote. 


INTRODUCTION.  87 

which  can?  Have  at  length  the  courage  to  be  just  and  con- 
sistent. How  can  the  Constitutional  Articles,  that  declare  the 
right  of  every  citizen,  without  distinction,  freely  to  go  out  of 
or  remain  in  France,  as  he  pleases,  be  reconciled  with  those 
decrees  which  pronounce  death  and  confiscation  of  goods  as 
the  penalties  of  emigration,  without  excepting  women,  chil- 
dren, old  men,  priests,  or  even  those  who  had  no  means  of 
escaping  the  daggers  of  assassins,  but  by  flight  out  of  the 
kingdom?  Cease  to  make  a  crime  in  some,  of  what  you  have 
granted  to  others  as  a  right.  You  have  proved  that  citizens 
may  be  found  in  every  class  worthy  of  the  highest  employ- 
ment in  the  State  by  their  abilities ;  let  it  now  be  proved  that 
they  are  deserving  of  them  by  their  justice,  their  moderation, 
and  their  wisdom,  because  those  virtues  are  as  necessary  under 
a  republican  government  as  in  a  monarchy.  Victories  enough 
have  immortalized  the  bravery  of  the  French  armies,  and 
proved  their  immense  superiority  over  those  of  their  enemies. 
It  is  not  on  the  Frontiers  that  the  most  dangerous  enemies 
of  the  national  happiness  are  to  be  found;  but  among  your- 
selves. Are  you  not  at  once  attacked  by  anarchy,  the  abuse 
of  power,  rapacity,  jealousy,  mutual  hatred,  by  all  those  pas- 
sions which  excite  to  crimes,  and  which  endanger  liberty  and 
property?  Those  are  the  foes  you  have  to  overcome.  Your 
harassed  country  demands  no  more  triumphs,  no  more  lau- 
rels at  your  hands;  it  requires  repose;  it  requires  happiness; 
neither  of  which  is  to  be  obtained  but  by  a  government  essen- 
tially founded  on  justice.  It  expects  freedom,  no  doubt;  and 
no  nation  had  a  better  title  to  expect  it;  but  not  that  free- 
dom of  which  Robespierre  and  Marat  were  the  apostles,  and 
under  which  it  was  so  long  and  so  cruelly  oppressed. 

"  The  freedom  which  France  requires  is  that  which  will 
secure  to  each  individual  the  most  extensive  lawful  exercise 
of  all  his  physical  and  moral  faculties.     Find,  if  you  can,  the 


88  INTRODUCTION. 

elements  of  this  freedom,  or  rather  the  power  of  producing 
it  in  your  present  republican  form  of  government.  Find 
there  the  means  of  rendering  the  French  people  of  all  classes 
more  happy  than  they  were  under  a  monarchical  form  of  gov- 
ernment: then,  but  not  till  then,  will  you  be  able  to  flatter 
yourself  with  having  established  the  republic ;  because  you  will 
then  have  the  general  interest  to  support  it.  But  do  not 
imagine  that  the  present  race  of  mankind  can  remain  any 
longer  in  a  state  of  wretchedness  and  misery,  without  some 
other  compensation  than  the  uncertain  perspective  of  happi- 
ness to  be  enjoyed  by  their  posterity.  Weigh  with  attention 
the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  your  republican  consti- 
tution; compare  them  without  prejudice  with  those  of  the 
ancient  monarchy,  of  the  abuses  of  which  I  am  as  great  an 
enemy  as  any  of  you  can  be;  but  what  necessity  is  there  for 
re-establishing  the  abuses?  Compare  your  present  govern- 
ment with  a  monarchy  as  wisely  limited  and  regulated  as  the 
ancient  constitution  of  France  might  be.  WTien  you  have 
calmly  made  this  comparison,  and  weighed  every  circumstance, 
you  will  be  able  to  decide,  whether  the  most  distinguished 
writers  on  government,  ancient  and  modern,  have  all  been 
imder  an  error,  when  they  asserted, — 

"  1st.  That  the  more  extensive  and  populous  an  empire  is,  the 
more  power  is  required  to  be  placed  in  the  hand  of  Government : 

"  2d.  That  the  power  of  Government  diminishes  in  propor- 
tion to  the  number  of  hands  which  exercise  it.  The  more 
people  there  are  in  any  country  to  command,  the  fewer  Avill 
there  be  to  obey: 

"  3d.  That  popular  elections  are  more  favourable  to  in- 
triguing, restless,  and  wrong-headed  men,  than  to  prudent  and 
virtuous  citizens: 

"  4th.  That  the  expense  of  Administration  is  infinitely  more 


INTRODUCTION.  89 

considerable  in  a  republic  than  in  a  monarchy;  because  in 
the  first  a  greater  number  must  have  employments. 

"  If  all  those  propositions  are  erroneous,  and  if  you  can 
demonstrate  this,  not  by  words,  but  by  facts,  you  may  in  that 
case  bring  the  majority  of  the  nation  to  continue  to  approve 
of  a  republican  form  of  government;  but  on  the  contrary,  you 
will  do  well  to  remember,  that  if  any  one  of  them  is  true,  the 
fate  of  the  republic  is  decided;  and  all  your  efforts,  all  your 
talents,  and  the  most  despotic  measures,  will  only  be  able  to 
retard  its  fall  and  your  ruin  a  very  short  time.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  then  that  you  will  be  sufficiently  prudent  and  coura- 
geous to  behave  like  real  patriots,  and  not  to  conceal  the  truth, 
but  to  declare  it  openly;  and  if  the  prevailing  desire  of  the 
citizens   at  the   approaching  primary   assemblies,^   being   en- 

3  The  approaching  primary  Elections  to  which  Bertrand  alludes 
were  the  elections  to  the  Corps  Legislatif  in  March  and  April  1797, 
which  resulted  in  the  return  of  a  strong  "  moderate "  ( or  as  we 
should  now  say,  Conservative)  majority,  among  whom  were  a  few  open 
royalists  and  many  who  would  probably  have  preferred  a  restoration 
to  a  renewal  of  the  Terror. 

These  elections  led  to  the  Coup  d'Etat  of  the  18th  Fructidor  (4th 
September  1797)  which  decimated  the  Legislative  Body,  destroyed 
the  last  chance  of  establishing  an  orderly  constitutional  republic, 
and  led  through  a  period  of  anarchy  and  bankruptcy  to  the  autocratic 
rule  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  as  First  Consul  and  Emperor. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  French  Parlements  bore  no 
resemblance  to  the  Parliaments  of  England  or  other  countries.  They 
were  the  supreme  "  Sovereign  "  Law  Courts  of  France.  There  were  in 
all  thirteen  of  these  Courts,  Paris,  Toulouse;  Grenoble,  Bordeaux, 
Dijon,  Aix,  Rouen,  Rennes,  Pau,  Mctz,  Bcsancon,  Douai,  and  Nancy. 
The  most  ancient  and  powerful  of  these  Courts  was  the  Parlement 
of  Paris,  which  had  jurisdiction  over  a  large  portion  of  France  con- 
taining a  jjopulation  of  not  less  than  ten  millions.  The  Paris  Parle- 
ment was  not  however  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  entire  nation,  since 
there  was  no  appeal  from  the  other  Sovereign  Courts  to  that  of  Paris. 
The  Magistrates  who  held  ofllce  in  these  courts,  had  for  several  con 
turies,  purchased  their  first  posts  which  in  some  cases  were  heredi- 


90  INTRODUCTION. 

lightened  by  your  wisdom  and  experience,  and  uninfluenced 
either  by  bribery  or  by  terror,  should  declare  for  monarchy; 
if  the  certainty  of  finding  in  the  legal  successor  of  Louis 
XVI.  the  faithful  executor  of  the  last  will  of  that  good 
King,  who  wrote  '  I  forgive,  with  all  my  heart,  those  who  have 
become  my  enemies,  without  my  having  ever  given  them  any 
reason  for  being  so;  and  I  pray  that  God  may  forgive  them 
also,'  should  determine  the  nation  to  restore  the  ancient 
throne  of  the  Bourbons;  you  will  have  the  glory  of  having 
prepared  and  promoted  that  happy  event.  France,  being  thus 
restored  to  her  King  and  to  happiness,  will  forget  all  your  past 

tary.  They  could  however  be  promoted  to  higher  office  without  ad- 
ditional payments.  Consequently,  except  in  cases  of  serious  miscon- 
duct, each  Magistrate  held  office  for  life  and  this  independence  of  the 
Crown  gave  to  the  Judges  of  France,  the  "  Noblesse  of  the  Robe,"  a 
high  degree  of  authority  and  prestige  which  was  at  times  beneficial 
and  at  other  times  prejudicial  to  the  freedom  and  welfare  of  the  na- 
tion. In  addition  to  their  judicial  duties,  the  Parlements  possessed 
the  right  of  registering  royal  Edicts,  and  this  registration  was  neces- 
sary before  these  Edicts  became  the  Law  of  the  Land.  If  the  Parle- 
ment  refused  to  register  an  Edict  the  Government  was  compelled 
either  to  abandon  it,  or  to  summon  a  "  Lit  de  Justice  "  in  which  the 
King  (or  in  the  Provincial  Parlements,  his  representatives)  sum- 
moned the  Parlement  and  ordered  the  registrations  to  be  carried 
through.  Gradually,  and  especially  during  the  long  and  feeble  reign 
of  Louis  XV.,  during  which  the  royal  authority  was  continually  losing 
ground,  the  Parlements  construed  this  right  of  registration  to  in- 
clude the  power  of  debating  and  criticising  each  clause  as  an  Edict. 
It  was  the  refusal  of  the  Parlement  of  Paris  in  July  1787,  to  register 
the  Edicts  imposing  fresh  taxes  on  land  and  stamps,  on  the  ground 
that  only  the  nation  assembled  in  the  States-General,  had  the  power 
to  authorise  new  and  permanent  taxation,  which  rendered  the  sum- 
moning of  the  States-General  inevitable.  The  popularity  which  the 
Parlements  acquired  by  their  opposition  to  the  Court  during  the 
years  immediately  preceding  the  Revolution  was  as  enthusiastic  as 
it  was  evanescent.  Most  of  the  "  Cahiers  "  (statements  of  the  griev- 
ances and  desires  of  each  constituency)  bitterly  denounced  them  and 
tliey  were  suppressed  with  hardly  a  voice  raised  in  their  defence, 
by  the  Decrees  of  the  National  Assembly  of  the  3rd  November  1780 
and  the  24th  May  1790. 


INTRODUCTION.  91 

errors,  and  will  remember  with  gratitude  this  last  blessing 
which  she  will  receive  from  you." 

Those  to  whom  this  is  addressed  ought  not  to  despise  the 
advice  it  contains,  because  it  comes  from  an  Emigre;  for  that 
Emigre  can,  with  propriety,  no  more  be  called  an  aristocrat 
than  a  democrat ;  he  is,  what  he  has  always  been,  a  downright 
royalist,  and  that  from  a  love  to  his  country,  having  always 
been  convinced  that  France  can  never  be  happy  but  under  a 
monarchical  government.  After  I  was  placed  in  situations 
that  enabled  me  to  know  the  personal  character  of  Louis  XVI., 
I  confess  that  my  original  attachment  to  monarchy  was 
strengthened  by  the  contemplation  of  his  virtues;  but  if  ever 
my  country  should  become  more  prosperous  and  happy  as  a 
republic  than  it  was  as  a  monarchy,  though  I  should  for  ever 
bitterly  lament  the  sad  fate  of  the  King  and  royal  family, 
yet  my  wishes  and  prayers  for  a  continuation  of  the  prosperity 
of  France  would  be  as  sincere  as  those  of  the  most  ardent 
republican. 

I  foresee,  without  uneasiness,  that  the  publication  of  these 
Memoirs  will  offend  the  violent  of  all  parties,  but  I  have 
formed  the  resolution  of  making  no  answer  to  any  attack  that 
may  be  made  against  my  political  opinions.  I  have  freely  de- 
clared them.  I  leave  them  to  answer  for  themselves,  and  to 
the  judgment  of  the  candid:  however,  I  retain  the  right  of 
rectifying  in  the  original  such  as  may  appear  hereafter,  in  my 
own  judgment,  to  be  erroneous.  As  for  the  facts  which  I 
have  related  from  my  own  knowledge,  for  these  I  think  my- 
self answerable.  I  defy  the  most  violent  of  my  enemies  to 
bring  contradictory  proof  to  any  one  of  them ;  and  I  now  come 
under  the  engagement  of  bringing  the  most  incontcstible  evi- 
dence of  the  truth  of  all  that  hereafter  may  be  contested. 


PRIVATE  MEMOIRS 

OF 

LOUIS   THE   SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTEE  I. 


A  view  of  the  State  of  France,  previous  to  the  assembling  of  the 
States  General  in  1789. —  Their  convocation  absolutely  necessary. 
—  The  advantages  which  might  have  been  derived  from  it. —  The 
causes  of  the  mischiefs  which  followed. —  The  character  of  Louis 
XVI. —  Of  M.  de  Maurepas. 

The  memoirs  of  a  Minister,  who  remained  only  five  months 
and  a  half  in  power,  may  be  supposed  to  contain  nothing  very 
interesting  to  history;  yet  no  period  of  equal  duration  can 
present  such  a  number  of  extraordinary  and  disastrous  events 
as  that  which  unhappily  terminated  the  reign  of  the  virtuous 
and  unfortunate  Louis  XVI. ;  a  few  months  of  which  furnish 
a  greater  number  of  important  incidents  than  whole  years  of 
the  brilliant  reign  of  Louis  XIV. 

These  Memoirs  are  drawn  up  from  notes  which  I  made 
during  and  since  my  administration,  of  some  interesting  occur- 
rences, some  of  which  are  very  little,  and  others  not  known 
at  all.  I  had  the  best  opportunity  of  being  well  informed  of 
them,  from  the  particular  confidence  with  which  my  zeal  was. 
honoured  by  the  king  and  queen,  and  from  my  private  corre- 
spondence with  their  Majesties  till  the  fatal  period  of  the  10th 
of  August  1792. 


94  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

These  events,  which  I  have  classed  according  to  their  dates, 
and  related  with  the  simplicity  and  scrupulous  truth  which 
ought  to  characterise  history,  will  assist  in  completing  that 
of  the  Eevolution,  and  give  a  just  idea  of  the  various  persong 
who  acted  a  part  in  its  different  scenes.  But  above  all,  I  wish 
to  unveil  the  real  character,  the  virtues,  and  imperfections  of 
our  unfortunate  monarch,  whose  concessions  to  his  people,  and 
desire  to  see  them  happier,  were  so  cruelly  and  ungratefully 
repaid. 

Had  the  council  at  that  time  been  composed  of  firmer  and 
more  enlightened  ministers,  the  pious  intentions  of  Louis 
might  have  been  fulfilled;  not  by  the  extravagant,  and  at  all 
times  dangerous,  expedient  of  changing  the  government,  but 
by  restoring  the  original  vigour  to  our  ancient  monarchy,  by 
re-establishing  its  excellent  laws,  and  by  the  reformation  of 
abuses  which  were  the  consequence  of  those  laws  having  be- 
come obsolete.  People  of  moderation  would  then  have  found 
in  this  government,  so  unjustly  decried,  the  basis  of  a  liberty 
as  real  and  extensive  as  that  of  which  the  English  are  so  proud, 
and  which  was  secured  to  us  and  increased  by  a  more  vigi- 
lant and  active  police.  We  should  have  found  in  our  laws 
the  prohibition  of  Letters  de  Cachet,  the  necessity  of  obtain- 
ing the  consent  of  the  States-General  in  order  to  establish 
taxes  in  proportion  to  the  means  of  the  contributors,  the  re- 
sponsibility of  ministers  and  of  all  the  agents  of  government, 
the  equality  of  every  citizen  in  the  eye  of  the  law;  in  a  word, 
all  that  the  nation  could  desire,  all  that  the  deputies  to  the 
States-General  were  instructed  by  their  constituents  to  de- 
mand. 

This  was  what  ought,  and  certainly  what  would  have  been, 
effected  by  tbe  meeting  of  the  States-General,  had  they  been 
firmly  retained  within  their  ancient  limits,  their  powers,  and 
their  rights,  by  a  minister  who  possessed  the  virtues,  energy. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  95 

and  abilitie3  of  the  immortal  L'Hospital,  whom  (as  the  presi- 
dent Renault  observes)  we  ought  to  have  before  our  eyes  as 
a  model,  by  which  to  judge  of  those  who  in  difficult  times  dare 
pretend  to  fill  the  same  place. 

But  because  the  States-General  produced  the  most  execrable 
revolution  tliat  ever  existed,  is  it  Louis  we  ought  to  accuse? 
After  being  so  unworthily  outraged  by  the  guilty  authors  of 
this  revolution,  can  he  with  justice  be  reproached  by  its  numer- 
ous victims  ?  No,  certainly  he  cannot ;  for  no  one  is  ignorant 
that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  refuse  assembling  the  States- 
General;  he  was  forced  to  it,  not  only  by  the  universal  cry 
of  the  kingdom,  but  by  the  deplorable  imprudence  of  the 
Parlements,^  in  declaring  "that  they  did  not  represent  the 

I  The  States-General  formed  the  Grand  Council  of  the  Nation  sum- 
moned irregularly,  at  periods  of  exceptional  danger  or  difficulty. 

Between  the  years  1302  and  1789  the  States-General  had  been 
called  together  on  twenty-four  occasions.  During  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury it  had  sat  ten  times,  during  the  fifteenth  eight  times,  during  the 
sixteenth  once  and  again  once  during  the  seventeenth,  in  1614.  Since 
that  date  it  had  never  been  summoned.  Its  duties  and  powers  were 
therefore  very  ill  defined,  and  consequently  when  Louis  XVI.  in  1788 
as  a  final  resource,  after  the  refusal  of  the  Parlements  to  grant  fresh 
taxes,  determined  to  summon  the  States-General,  no  one  exactly  knew 
how  the  members  were  to  be  elected,  how  they  were  to  vote,  how  long 
they  were  to  sit  or  how  their  powers  were  to  be  extended  or  limited. 
In  all  previous  sessions  of  the  States-General,  the  whole  body  had 
been  divided  into  three  "  Orders,"  the  Clergy,  the  Noblesse,  and  the 
"  Tiers  6tat "  or  Third  Estate,  consisting  of  the  Commons  or  People. 
In  1788,  the  First  Order,  the  Clergy,  was  composed  of  widely  different 
social  classes.  The  Bishops,  the  Dignitaries  and  the  higher  religious 
orders,  such  as  the  Benedictines,  were  for  the  most  part  drawn  from 
old  families  and  their  sympathies  were  with  the  Order  of  the  No- 
blesse. The  Cures,  Vicaires,  and  the  lower  religious  orders,  Fran- 
ciscans, Capuchins  and  so  forth  were  mostly  the  sons  of  small  trades- 
men or  peasants  and  were  disposed  to  make  common  cause  with  the 
"Third  Order." 

The  Second  Order,  the  "  Noblesse,"  consisted  of  somewhat  more  than 
100,000  individuals.  Among  them  were  the  members  of  Noble  fam- 
ilies, ancient  or  modem;   but  the  great  majority  were  Magistrates, 


96  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

nation,  as  they  had  hitherto  pretended  to  do;  that  the  regis- 
tering the  laws  could  not  supply  the  want  of  the  national  con- 
sent in  matters  of  taxation;  that  they  would  no  longer  exert 
a  right  which  they  had  usurped,  and  which  conscience  and 
honour  forced  them  to  relinquish." 

Shall  it  be  said  that  the  King,  though  forced  to  convene  the 
States-General,  has  at  least  to  reproach  himself  for  not  hav- 
ing employed  ministers  capable  of  moderating  and  directing 
their  measures?  But  situated  as  he  was,  how  could  he  be 
sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  characters  and  talents  of  men, 
to  enable  him  to  make  a  better  choice  ?  Can  it  be  forgot,  that 
the  King  and  Queen  had  always  an  extreme  repugnance  against 
M.  Necker;  that  in  calling  him  to  the  ministry  in  1788,  their 
Majesties  only  yielded  to  the  public  opinion,  and  to  the  unan- 
imous desire  of  the  nation,  by  which  he  was  considered  as  the 
only  man  capable  of  re-establishing  public  affairs  ?  His  second 
recall,  in  July  1789,  was  still  less  a  matter  of  choice;  and  this 
fatal  necessity  of  recalling  M.  Necker  gave  him  the  power  of 
forming  the  ministry  as  was  most  agreeable  to  himself. 

The  double  representation  of  the  Tiers  may  be  justly  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  our  disasters.  The 
king  is  blamed  for  having  consented  to  it,  contrary  to  the 
advice  of  the  majority  of  the  Assembly  of  Notables.  But  I 
must  observe  upon  this  head,  that  the  people  were  already 
prepared  for  revolt,  by  the  insurrections  to  which  they  had 
been  excited  six  months  before :  they  had  been  taught  to  know 
their  own  strength,  and  to  despise  that  of  the  Government; 
consequently,  if  instead  of  consenting  to  the  double  repre- 
sentation of  the  Tiers,  the  King  had  embraced  the  measure  of 
dismissing  M.  Xecker,  whom  the  commons  then  regarded  as 

purchasers  or  owners  of  estates  which  carried  with  them  some  sort 
of  title,  officials  who  had  purchased  or  inherited  one  of  the  innu- 
merable posts  which  exempted  its  holders  from  the  "  Taille,"  the  direct 
tax  levied  on  all  who  could  not  plead  the  privilege  of  "  Noblesse." 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  97 

their  zealous  protector  and  as  their  father,  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  the  people,  attributing  his  disgrace  to  his  popu- 
larity, would  have  risen  everywhere  in  his  favour,  as  they  did 
in  the  month  of  July  following,  and  would  have  equally  forced 
his  Majesty  to  recall  him,  and  to  grant  the  double  repre- 
sentation of  the  Tiers-fitat.^    I  shall  even  add,  that  in  such 

2  The  "  Tiers  Etat,  or  Third  Order,  was  composed  of  all  men  of 
French  Nationality,  not  belonging  to  either  of  the  higher  Orders,  who 
were  twenty-five  years  of  age  and  who  were  inscribed  in  the  lists  of 
those  who  paid  the  "  Taille  "  in  the  Commune  which  they  inhabited. 
In  all  previous  sessions  of  the  States-General,  each  Order  had  se- 
lected the  same  number  of  Deputies,  and  each  had  sat  and  voted 
separately,  meeting  together  'only  when  summoned  to  do  so  by  the 
Sovereign. 

As  soon  as  the  elections  of  1788-89  were  announced  the  question  of 
doubling  the  representatives  of  the  Third  Order  (the  great  majority 
of  the  Nation)  was  raised.  The  question  was  answered  in  the  nega- 
tive by  the  Parlements  and  by  the  "  Assembly  of  Notables  "  summoned 
in  1788  to  discuss  the  various  difficulties  which  arose  as  to  the  man- 
ner of  electing  representatives.  It  was  finally  settled  by  the  Prin- 
cipal Minister,  Jacques  Necker,  in  his  Report  to  the  King,  printed 
on  the  2nd  Dec,  1788. 

In  this  report  Necker,  for  the  reasons  given  in  Bertrand's  Mem- 
oirs (Vol.  I.,  pp.  24-26)  recommends  that  the  Third  Order  should 
have  a  number  of  representatives  equalling  those  of  the  two  other 
Orders  put  together.  The  number  of  Deputies  of  the  three  Orders 
was  fixed  in  their  Report  at  1,000,  but  in  point  of  fact  there  were 
considerably  more. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  the  exact  figures,  which  are  either  evaded  or 
stated  difi"erently  by  every  historian.  Even  the  contemporary  lists 
vary. 

I  take  the  following  from  the  most  carefully  compiled  of  these  con- 
temporary statements. 

If  not  absolutely  accurate  it  is  at  any  rate  sufficiently  so  for  prac- 
tical purposes.  It  runs  thus:  —  Repiesonlatives  of  the  Clergy  293 
(of  whom  79  were  of  the  Hiplior.  ar.d  llA  of  the  Parochial  Clergj'), 
Noblesse  289.  Third  Order  594  (of  whom  353  were  lavvyers)  Total 
1,176. 

Necker  in  his  Report,  leaves  umlrcidod  the  far  more  important 
question  as  of  whether  the  throe  Ordvis  were  to  sit  together  or  sepa- 
rately. 

Yet  it  was  obvious  that  if  the  Third  Order  were  to  sit  apart,  the 
Vol.   1—7 


98  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

circumstances  it  would  have  been  very  diflScult  for  the  King 
to  have  avoided  being  drawn  in  by  the  specious  reasons  which 
M.  Necker  employed  to  determine  him.  He  represented  to 
the  King,  "  that  the  attacks  which  the  Parlements,  supported 
by  the  nobility,  had  made  on  his  authority,  had  almost  anni- 
hilated it;  that  the  conduct  of  the  clergy,  in  the  first  Assembly 
of  Notables,  proved  but  too  well  that  their  sentiments  and 
wishes  corresponded  with  those  of  the  nobility  and  magistracy ; 
that  it  could  no  longer  be  concealed  that  all  those  different 
bodies  uniting  to  demand  the  convocation  of  the  States-Gen- 
eral, was  less  with  a  view  to  re-establish  the  royal  authority 
than  to  render  it  quite  impotent;  that  this  would  be  the  result 
of  their  deliberations,  unless  the  two  first  orders  were  be- 
reaved of  that  weight  which  the  ancient  form  of  convocation 
gave  them  in  the  Assembly;  that  the  only  means  of  attaining 
this  important  end  was  to  compose  the  order  of  the  Tiers  of 
a  number  of  deputies  equal  to  that  of  the  two  other  orders 
united;  that  no  law  existed  to  regulate  the  number  of  depu- 
ties that  each  order  ought  to  send;  that  there  was  not  an  in- 
stance of  two  convocations  being  uniform  in  this  respect,  and 
therefore  the  measure  he  proposed,  so  far  from  being  irregu- 
lar, was  no  more  than  the  exercise  of  a  right  which  the  King 
always  had  possessed,  of  fixing  the  number  of  the  deputies  of 
every  order;  that  the  third  order  was  greatly  interested  that 
the  King  should  have  it  in  his  power  to  protect  it  from  the 

number  of  its  representatives  was  of  no  importance;  whereas  if  the 
three  Orders  were  merged  in  one  body,  the  Third  Order,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  the  lower  Clergy,  would  have  a  sufficient  standing  ma- 
jority to  outvote  the  Noblesse  and  the  higher  Clergy  whenever  they 
wished  to  do  so. 

Hence  the  refusal  of  the  representatives  of  the  Third  Order  to  act 
until  the  two  other  Orders  joined  them;  their  assumption  on  the  15th 
June  of  the  title  of  the  National  Assembly  and  their  final  triumph 
over  the  King  and  the  other  Orders  after  the  Royal  Stance  of  the 
23rd  June  1789. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  99 

oppressive  enterprises  of  the  two  others;  and  that  a  sense  of 
gratitude  for  this  mark  of  confidence,  as  well  as  a  regard  for 
its  own  interest,  would  undoubtedly  engage  the  third  order  to 
strengthen  his  Majesty's  hands,  and  enable  him  to  re-establish 
a  solid  and  vigorous  government,  without  which  the  monarchy 
was  lost."  Such  were  the  arguments  which  M.  Necker  em- 
ployed in  support  of  the  famous  reference  to  the  council,  upon 
which  the  double  representation  to  the  Tiers-fitat  was  granted ; 
and  unfortunately  there  was  not  one  of  the  ministers  at  that 
time  who  was  capable  of  firmly  opposing  this  opinion,  which 
the  King  adopted  through  the  error  or  the  weakness  of  his 
council. 

It  has  been  incessantly  repeated,  "that  all  might  yet  have 
been  prevented,  had  the  King  placed  himself  at  the  head  of 
his  troops,  and  of  his  nobility,"  etc.  Of  his  troops !  Could 
it  be  believed  that  there  then  existed  many  regiments  that 
could  be  depended  on,  after  experiencing  the  defection  of 
the  French  guards  and  the  regiment  of  Flanders,  in  both 
of  which  corps  more  confidence  had  been  placed  than  in  any 
other?  Besides,  it  was  known  that  M.  de  Bouille  had  written 
to  the  King,  that  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  battalions  of 
infantry,  and  eighty  of  cavalry,  which  he  commanded,  he 
could  rely  on  five  battalions  only,  and  these  were  foreign 
troops.  In  addition  to  this,  the  officers  of  those  regiments  the 
least  infected  with  the  spirit  of  the  Revolution,  all  agreed,  that 
the  very  idea  of  being  attacked  by  the  populace,  armed  with 
sticks  and  pikes,  was  more  terrifying  to  the  soldiers  than  the 
army  of  an  enemy  ranged  in  order  of  battle.  With  regard  to 
the  nobility,  although  those  of  its  members,  who  owed  most 
to  the  court,  had  basely  repaid  its  favours  with  revolting  in- 
gratitude, and  although  a  great  many  others  had  adopted  the 
principles  of  the  Eevolution,  there  yet  remained  many  brave 
and  loyal  Chevaliers  of  the  old  stamp,  who  would  have  sought 


100  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

the  glory  of  saving  the  monarchy  at  the  risk  of  their  own  lives. 
But  they  were  not  possessed  of  sufficient  force  to  insure  the 
success  which  their  loyalty  deserved.  The  King  was  of  this 
opinion.  Ought  it  to  be  imputed  to  him  as  a  crime?  Ouglit 
he  to  be  reproached,  because  he  would  not  expose  the  lives  of 
his  most  valuable  subjects,  without  a  moral  probability  of 
success;  he,  who  would  never  risk  the  life  of  the  most  obscure 
individual  to  secure  his  own?  Nothing  can  be  more  just 
than  what  M.  de  Malesherbes  said  to  me  one  day,  in  an  inter- 
esting conversation  which  will  be  found  in  these  Memoirs, 
*'  that  this  extreme  sensibility,  this  tenderness  of  disposition, 
so  amiable  in  private  life,  and  in  times  of  tranquillity,  often 
become,  in  times  of  revolution,  more  fatal  to  a  king,  than 
even  certain  vices  would  have  been."  Thus  it  was  that  the 
errors  of  Louis  XVI.  may  truly  be  said  to  have  originated  in 
a  virtuous  principle.  As  to  these  weaknesses  (for  undoubtedly 
he  was  not  exempted  from  these),  I  do  not  endeavour  to  con- 
ceal them.  In  the  course  of  these  Memoirs,  I  more  than  once 
lament  the  indecision  of  that  unfortunate  prince;  his  repug- 
nance to  adopt  the  bold  measures  which  might  have  saved  him ; 
his  being  deficient  in  that  energy  of  character,  that  self-con- 
fidence which  imposes  on  the  multitude,  who  are  ever  ready 
to  believe  that  he  who  commands  with  firmness  and  an  air  of 
authority,  possesses  the  means  of  enforcing  obedience.  But  I 
will  venture  to  say,  that  the  very  faults  above  enumerated  did 
not  belong  to  his  natural  character,  but  were  engrafted  upon 
it  by  the  selfish  indolence  of  M.  de  Maurepas,^  that  ancient 
minister,  whom  the  court  flatterers  were  not  ashamed  to  call 

3  Jean  FrM^ric  Phelypeaux,  Count  de  Maurepas,  was  73  years  old, 
and  had  lived  in  retirement  for  25  years,  when  Louis  XVI.  came 
to  the  throne  in  1774.  The  two  principal  measures  of  his  Ministry 
consisted  of  the  recall  of  the  former  Parlement  in  place  of  the  new 
body  known  as  the  "  Maupeou  Parlement,"  and  of  the  declaration  of 
war  against   England,    during   the   American    War   of    Independence. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  101 

the  N^estor  of  France,  because  he  resembled  Nestor  in  age; 
having  been  discarded  in  the  former  reign,  he  was  now  recalled 
to  direct  the  first  steps  of  Louis  XVI.  in  the  career  of  roy- 
alty. Previous  to  the  recall  of  this  minister,  the  young  Frinoa 
had  been  noted  for  an  awkward  forwardness  of  manner  and 
impatience  of  contradiction,  through  which,  however,  a  good- 
ness of  heart  and  love  of  justice  always  appeared.  He  did  not 
find  in  his  pupil  any  of  those  passions  so  common  to  his  years, 
but  the  seeds  of  all  the  precious  qualities  with  which  Provi- 
dence endows  the  minds  of  those  princes  who  do  honour  to 
the  throne,  and  are  destined  for  the  happiness  of  the  people. 
"Wliat  task  could  be  more  easy  and  honourable  than  that  which 
this  pretended  Mentor  had  to  fulfill?  His  care  and  attention 
were  not  required  to  render  the  young  monarch  virtuous,  but 
to  unfold  those  virtues  he  already  possessed,  and  so  to  direct 
them,  that  those  qualities  which  form  a  great  prince  might 
take  the  lead  of  those  which  merely  form  a  man  of  probity; 
to  teach  him  to  estimate  the  talents  of  men,  that  he  might 
thereby  be  empowered  to  employ  them  conformably  to  their 
abilities.  He  ought,  at  the  same  time,  to  have  given  him  such 
an  idea  of  his  own  powers  and  resources,  as  would  have  in- 
spired him  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  confidence  in  himself, 
and  have  enabled  him  to  act  with  that  steadiness  which  al- 
ways creates  respect;  for  a  prince  of  a  good  understanding, 

Early  in  his  Ministry,  he  introduced  Turgot,  Malesherbes  and  Neeker, 
to  the  Council,  but  speedily  becoming  jealous  of,  and  alarmed  by 
their  growing  reputation,  he  continued,  one  by  one,  to  rid  himself  of 
them.  Maurepas,  even  in  his  old  age,  was  a  brilliant  talker,  over- 
flowing with  epigram  and  humour,  and  Louis  XVI.  loved  to  converse 
freely  with  him.  In  this  way  he  gained  such  an  ascendance  over 
the  young  and  awkward  King  that  he  assumed  more  or  less  the  po- 
sition of  a  "  Mayor  of  the  Palace  "  and  acquired  the  baleful  influence 
which  Bertrand  de  Moleville  attributes  to  him. 

He  died  at  the  age  of  80  in  November  1781.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  Turgot,  to  the  profound  misfortune  of  the  King  and 
Country,  died  in  March  of  the  same  year. 


102  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

who  is  conscious  of  his  own  value,  may  sometimes  appear  supe- 
rior, but  will  never  appear  inferior,  to  himself. 

If  M.  de  Maurepas  had  consulted  the  glory  and  the  happi- 
ness of  Erance,  this  would  have  been  the  path  he  would  have 
pursued.  But  a  glory  only  in  prospect,  and  the  happiness  of 
a  nation,  were  enjoyments  of  too  refined  a  nature  for  that 
Minister.  He  Avished  to  revenge,  or  at  least  to  indemnify  him- 
self, for  many  years  of  exile;  and  the  unlimited  confidence 
which  the  King  placed  in  him,  furnished  him  with  too  ample 
means.  His  chief  endeavour  was  to  keep  the  King  ignorant 
of  his  affairs,  disgust  him  with  business,  extinguish  all  his 
energy,  and  render  him  an  absolute  cipher,  that  he,  the  min- 
ister, might  reign  in  his  name.  In  this  manner  the  first  scep- 
tre in  Europe  became  the  mere  babble  of  dotage  and  indiffer- 
ence. He  had  persuaded  the  King,  that  he  ought  never  to 
decide  upon  any  measure  himself,  but  always  be  determined 
by  the  opinion  of  the  majority  in  the  council.  M.  de  Maure- 
pas was  by  this  means  assured  of  always  having  his  own  plans 
adopted,  not  only  because  the  ministers,  being  nominated  by 
him,  would  give  no  opinion  contrary  to  his,  but  also  because 
he  had  accustomed  them  never  to  carry  any  important  affair 
to  the  council,  before  they  had  submitted  it  to  his  decision, 
which  necessarily  became  that  of  the  king.  In  this  manner 
Louis  XVL,  although  endowed  with  good  sense  and  a  just 
understanding,  acted  the  passive  part  in  council  which  M.  de 
Maurepas  prescribed  to  him  as  the  only  means  of  exempt- 
ing himself  from  the  reproach  of  being  answerable  for  the 
faults  of  administration.  On  this  account  the  King  took 
great  care  never  to  let  his  opinion  be  known  during  the  discus- 
sion of  any  question  of  whatever  importance;  and  he  was  always 
decided  by  the  opinion  of  the  majority.  This  conduct  of  the 
King's,  which  made  him  be  accused  of  total  indifference,  was 
therefore  owing  to  a  very   different  principle.     The  tedium. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  103 

inseparable  from  such  an  insignificant  situation,  promoted  his 
passion  for  hunting,  where  alone  he  enjoyed  full  liberty;  and 
the  magnificence  with  which  that  diversion  was  conducted  at 
Versailles  made  him  forget  the  insipidity  to  which  M.  de 
Maurepas  had  reduced  the  regal  office;  and  though  the  King 
often  pushed  this  exercise  to  excess,  the  Minister  took  care  not 
to  warn  him  against  it,  because  he  found  his  Majesty  more 
pliant  to  his  counsels  when  overwhelmed  with  fatigue  than  at 
any  other  time.  He  had  so  great  an  ascendancy  over  this 
prince's  mind,  as  to  render  him  distrustful  of  all  who  ap- 
proached him;  even  of  those  very  Ministers  whom  he  himself 
had  prompted  the  King  to  appoint;  and  while  he  declared  it 
impossible  to  choose  any  more  unexceptionable,  he  allowed  no 
opportunity  to  escape  of  depreciating  their  talents  and  their 
characters,  and  continually  admonished  the  King  to  be  upon 
his  guard  against  their  views,  their  intentions,  and  all  their 
measures. 

This  general  distrust,  which  M.  de  Maurepas  infused  and 
carefully  cherished,  for  about  eight  years,  in  the  King's  mind, 
had  taken  such  deep  root,  that  it  ever  afterwards  adhered  to 
him;  for  even  in  the  most  dangerous  and  critical  moments  of 
his  life,  when  his  security  depended  upon  it,  he  never  could 
be  persuaded  to  place  full  confidence  in  the  zeal  and  fidelity  of 
his  most  devoted  servants. 

M.  de  Maurepas  deserves  also  the  severest  blame  for  neg- 
lecting to  employ  any  means  to  correct  the  King's  excessive 
timidity,  which  almost  deprived  him  of  the  power  of  speech 
when  he  was  in  company  with  people  whom  he  was  not  in  the 
habit  of  seeing  every  day.  His  restraint,  upon  those  occa- 
sions, made  him  forget,  for  the  time,  things  which  he  was  per- 
fectly well  acquainted  with,  although  he  possessed  a  very 
happy  memory.  M.  de  Maurepas  certainly  might  in  a  great 
degree  have  corrected  this  weakness,  at  all  times  a  great  incon- 


104  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

venience,  but  at  this  particular  time  dangerous  to  the  throne; 
but  so  far  from  remedying  the  evil,  M.  de  Maurepas  increased 
it  by  his  satirical  raillery  at  the  rough  abruptness  of  the 
King's  manner,  and  upon  what  some  of  the  courtiers  had  the 
insolence  to  call  "  ses  coups  de  houtoir "  (blows  of  a  boar's 
tusk).  Ah!  if  he  had  indeed  been  capable  of  giving  such  se- 
vere blows,  how  much  is  it  to  be  wished  that  he  had  directed 
them  against  those  false,  ambitious,  and  ungrateful  men ;  those 
traitors,  whose  base  and  perfidious  plans  have  brought  on  a 
revolution,  the  details  of  which  are  so  shocking,  that  if  we  had 
found  them  in  a  history  of  the  most  barbarous  nation,  we 
should  have  supposed  them  greatly  exaggerated;  a  revolution, 
which  has  been  justly  compared  to  the  irruptions  of  a  frightful 
volcano,  announced  by  a  hollow  awful  murmur,  and  by  the 
shaking  of  the  neighbouring  mountains,  finally  bursting  forth 
in  torrents  of  fire,  spreading  death  and  desolation  all  around. 

In  following  up  this  comparison,  it  may  be  said,  that  if  the 
indifference  and  selfishness  of  M.  de  Maurepas  excited  the  fer- 
mentation of  the  impure  elements  of  the  Eevolution,  the  inca- 
pacity and  extravagant  violence  of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens 
(Lomenie  de  Brienne)  conducted  the  king  and  the  monarchy 
to  the  mouth  of  the  volcano,  and  the  ambition  and  foolish 
vanity  of  M.  Xecker,  precipitated  them  into  it.  As  the  con- 
nection which  I  had  with  the  two  last-mentioned  ministers, 
in  the  year  1788,  when  I  was  Intendant  of  Brittany,  and  the 
events  which  took  place  in  that  province,  where  the  Eevolution 
actually  began,  may  throw  some  lights  upon  its  origin  and 
first  progress,  I  will  succinctly  enumerate  the  particulars  in 
these  Memoirs,  because  a  knowledge  of  the  symptoms  which 
were  the  forerunners  of  this  too  memorable  catastrophe  are  not 
less  interesting  or  less  useful  than  that  of  its  consequences. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Character  of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens. —  The  King's  opinion  of  him. — 
First  Assembly  of  Notables. —  Intrigues  to  overturn  M.  de  Ca- 
lonne's  plans. —  Their  success. —  The  Archbishop  of  Sens  appointed 
first  minister. —  Project  of  reformation  in  the  magistracy. —  Mo- 
tives of  my  repugnance  to  concur  in  this  scheme  communicated 
to  the  Chancellor. —  His  dissimulation. —  My  departure  for  Brit- 
tany with  M.  de  Thiard. —  His  character. —  Arrival  of  orders 
from  the  King. —  I  send  my  resignation. —  The  Minister's  an- 
swer.—  A  capital  fault  of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens. —  Reflections. 

Monsieur  de  Brienxe/  Archbishop  of  Sens,  who  had  long 
ardently  aspired  to  the  ministry,  had  always  been  kept  out,  in 
spite  of  the  high  reputation  of  his  talents,  upon  account  of  the 
bad  opinion  which  the  King  entertained  of  his  morals  and 

1  All  historians  of  the  Revolution,  whatever  their  political  views, 
agree  with  Bertrand  de  Moleville,  as  to  the  character  of  Lomenie  de 
Brienne  and  as  to  the  disastrous  influence  which  he  exercised  during 
the  critical  period  immediately  preceding  the  Revolution.  His  char- 
acter is  a  curious  compound  of  ambition  for  fame,  greed  for  promo- 
tion and  for  wealth  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the  other,  absence  of  en- 
ergy,  strength  of  purpose  or  talent  of  any  description.  The  fifteen 
months  of  his  Ministry  (1st  May  1787  to  25th  August  1788),  were 
marked  by  incessant  struggles  with  the  Parlement  and  people,  dur- 
ing which  the  Monarchy  lost  in  power  and  prestige  more  than  in  any 
previous  fifteen  years  of  its  existence.  One  act  of  importance  only 
survived  Lomenie  de  Brienne's  term  of  office,  the  Order  in  Council 
summoning  the  States-General  to  meet  on  the  1st  of  May  1789. 

His  resignation  was  due  to  the  judiciary  refusal  of  Necker  to  ac- 
cept the  control  of  the  finances  so  long  as  he  retained  his  Ministry. 
Lomenie  therefore  retired,  having  first  secured  for  himself  one  of 
the  richest  dioceses  in  Europe,  the  Archbishopric  of  Sens,  the  promise 
of  the  first  Cardinal's  Hat  vacant  (which  was  bestowed  upon  him  on 
the  Loth  Dec.  1788),  the  coadjutor  bishoprick  of  Sens  for  one  nephew, 
the  colonelcy  of  a  regiment  for  another,  and  a  post  of  lady  in  wait- 
ing  for   his   niece. 


106  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

principles.  When  it  was  proposed  to  his  Majesty  to  receive 
this  unworthy  prelate  (at  that  time  Archbishop  of  Toulouse) 
into  the  council,  the  pious  prince  answered  with  indignation, 
"  The  man  does  not  believe  in  God."  The  prelate  being  ap- 
prized of  the  motives  of  his  Majesty's  repugnance,  which  were 
but  too-well  founded,  flattered  himself  that  he  should  be  able 
to  obviate  them.  He  endeavoured  to  give  an  impression  of 
his  conversion,  by  appearing  entirely  devoted  to  the  cares 
of  his  diocese,  and  by  practicing,  from  time  to  time,  gome  of 
those  public  acts  of  charity  which  are  always  cried  up,  with 
exaggeration,  in  the  public  papers.  This  edifying  course  of 
good  works  was  interrupted  by  the  death  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Paris,  M.  de  Brienne  never  once  doubting  but  that  his  reputa- 
tion was  so  perfectly  well  established,  that  he  should  now  be 
esteemed  a  worthy  successor  to  one  of  the  most  virtuous 
prelates  in  France.  He  accordingly  offered  himself  as  a  candi- 
date, and  supported  his  pretensions  by  the  wtII  known  credit 
and  intrigues  of  the  Abbe  de  Yermond.  But  the  King  was  of 
opinion,  that  a  belief  in  the  Supreme  Being  could  still  less  be 
dispensed  with  in  an  Archbishop  of  Paris,  than  in  a  secretary 

Lomenie  was  one  of  the  four  Bishops  who  accepted  the  Civil  Con- 
stitution of  the  Clergy  in  1791,  an  act  which  permitted  his  continued 
residence  at  Sens  under  the  title  of  "  Bishop  of  the  Department  of  the 
Yonne,"  but  compelled  him,  unwillingly,  to  return  his  Cardinal's  Hat 
to  the  Pope.  His  end  was  horrible.  On  the  9th  Nov.  1793,  he  was 
arrested  and  after  some  delay  sent  to  Paris  under  the  escort  of  some 
National  Guards,  wlio  are  said  to  have  grossly  maltreated  him.  Im- 
mediately after  his  arrival  in  Paris  he  died  (16  Feb.  1794,  age  67), 
either  in  consequence  of  the  brutalities  to  which  he  had  been  sub- 
jected, or  by  poison  taken  in  despair.  It  is  one  of  the  strangest  pe- 
culiarities of  the  Terror,  that  when  the  head  of  a  family  was  sen- 
tenced, it  became  the  custom  to  send  as  many  of  his  relatives  as  pos- 
sible to  follow  him  fo  the  next  world.  In  this  case,  the  younger 
brother,  the  Count  de  Brienne,  with  his  two  sons  and  one  daughter,  and 
the  nephew  who  had  been  created  Coadjutor  Bishop  of  Sens  were  all 
guillotined  together  on  the  10th  May  1794. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  107 

of  state,  and  therefore  preferred  the  virtues  of  M.  de  Juigne  - 
to  the  supposed  talents  of  M.  de  Brienne.  Indeed  it  has  but 
too  evidently  appeared  since,  that  he  possessed  no  other  talent 
but  that  of  doing  mischief;  and  in  fact,  he  did  more,  and  in 
less  time,  than  the  most  ignorant,  or  even  the  most  perfidious 
minister  that  ever  existed  in  France  or  any  where  else. 

The  convocation  of  the  first  Assembly  of  Notables,  in  the 
year  1?88,  opened  a  new  prospect  to  the  ambitious  hopes  and 
intrigues  of  Archbishop  Lomenie  de  Brienne,  He  saw  that 
in  the  present  circumstances,  the  only  chance  he  had  of  rising 
to  the  ministry  depended  upon  his  being  able  to  form  a  party 
in  the  Assembly,  sufficiently  powerful  to  overturn  M.  de 
Calonne,^  who  was  the  minister  in  greatest  credit,  and  author 

2  Antoine  Eleanor  de  Juign6  is  remarkable  for  one  episode  of  his 
long  life.  In  1770  a  disastrous  fire  broke  out  at  Saint  Dizcee,  and 
de  Juigng,  who  was  at  the  time  Bishop  of  Chatres,  instituted  a 
scheme  of  assisting  those  who  had  suffered  which  formed  the  basis 
of  one  of  the  earliest  (if  not  actually  the  first)  systems  of  Fire  In- 
surance. The  words  of  Louis  XVI.  when  he  selected  de  Juign6  in 
preference  to  Lomenie  de  Brienne  for  the  Archbishopric  of  Paris  are 
usually  thus  quoted :  "  At  the  veiy  least  it  is  desirable  that  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Paris  should  believe  in  a  God."  In  1790,  de  Juign6  emi- 
grated. During  the  last  night  of  his  life,  Louis  XVI.  enquired  what 
had  become  of  him.  De  Juigne  returned  to  Paris  in  1802,  having 
previously  given  in  his  resignation  of  his  See  to  the  Pope,  in  order 
to  give  Bonaparte  a  free  hand  in  the  most  important  ecclesiastical 
appointment  made  after  the  Concordat.  The  First  Consul  in  return 
created  him  a  Count.     De  Juign6  died,  aged  83,  in  March  1811. 

3  The  fate  of  Charles  Alexander  de  Calonne  was  a  very  curious 
one.  So  long  as  he  continued  to  supply  the  Court  with  money,  bor- 
rowed at  minor  interest,  or  wrung  from  the  people  by  anticipated 
taxation,  he  was  the  most  popular  Minister  in  France.  Perhaps  the 
only  person  who  distrusted  or  disliked  him  was  the  King  himself, 
who  clung  to  the  ideas  of  Calonne's  predecessor,  Turgot,  whom  he  had 
been  forced  gi-eatly  against  his  will,  to  dismiss. 

But  wlien  Calonne  proposed  to  the  Assembly  of  Notables  which  he 
had  summoned,  for  that  purpose,  a  series  of  reforms,  such  as  the 
equal  distribution  of  taxation  between  the  Noblesse,  the  Clergy  and 
the   Third    Estate,    his   popularity   fell    from    him    in   a    moment,   the 


108  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

of  a  new  system  of  administration,  which  was  at  that  time  laid 
before  the  Assembly.  The  Archbishop  prepared  his  batteries 
accordingly.  The  proportional  contributions  to  all  taxes,  and 
the  alienation  of  honorary  rights  depending  on  benefices  were 
the  principal  measures  which  M.  de  Calonne  proposed  to  this 
Assembly,  in  which  the  clergy  had  great  weight.  This  attack 
upon  ecclesiastical  property  offered  a  favourable  opportunity 
for  the  enemies  of  the  Minister  to  excite  the  most  violent 
opposition  against  him  and  his  schemes,  not  only  in  the  Assem- 
bly, but  also  at  Court  and  in  the  capital.  He  was  so  power- 
fully attacked  in  so  many  different  ways,  that  his  disgrace 
seemed  inevitable.  His  fall  was  accompanied  with  that  of  the 
Chancellor  (Hue  de  Mirosmenil),  who,  after  giving  his  appro- 
bation and  support  to  the  plans  of  M.  de  Calonne,  had  the 
weakness  to  abandon  him,  and  join  his  adversaries. 

In  this  manner  the  King  was  drawn  on  by  a  combination 
of  circumstances,  and  reduced  to  the  unhappy  necessity  of 
forming  a  new  council,  and  of  abandoning  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment to  Archbishop  Lomenie  de  Brienne.  This  ambitious 
man  was  not  contented  with  occupying  the  situation  from 
which  he  had  precipitated  M.  de  Calonne ;  he  never  rested  until 
he  was  named  the  principal  Minister,  and  had  supreme  influ- 

Queen,  the  Count  d'Artois  and  his  brother  ministers  deserted  him  and 
Lomenie  by  dint  of  false  promises  and  intrigues  supplanted  him,  as 
Bertrand  truly  says,  to  the  infinite  loss  of  the  King  and  the  Nation. 
Calonne  was  exiled  to  Lorraine  and  ultimately  passed  to  Eng- 
land, where  he  married  a  rich  widow  and  lived  for  many  years.  In 
1802  he  solicited  from  Napoleon  permission  to  return  to  France,  which 
was  granted  to  him.  He  died  one  month  later,  at  the  age  of  68. 
Calonne  was  a  man  of  great  ability,  but  hardly  of  high  character.  A 
thorough  man  of  the  world,  with  an  attractive  personality  and  a 
liglit  touch,  he  relied  much  on  his  own  charm  of  manner  and  facility 
in  promising  what  he  could  not  perform :  His  well-known  reply  to 
an  extravagant  request  of  Marie  Antoinette  is  thoroughly  character- 
istic of  the  man:  "Madame,  if  it  is  possible,  it  is  done  already;  if 
impossible,  it  shall  be  done." 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  109 

ence  in  the  departments  of  all  the  other  ministers,  who,  some 
from  fear,  and  others  from  incapacity,  became  all  the  passive 
instruments  of  his  destructive  genius. 

The  greatest  error  the  King  could  be  guilty  of  vras  to  dis- 
miss M.  de  Calonne,  before  he  had  put  an  end  to  the  Assem- 
bly of  Notables.  It  must  be  acknowledged,  that  this  fatal 
determination,  followed  by  the  nomination  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Sens  to  the  ministry,  was  the  immediate  cause  of  the  Eev- 
olution.  Upon  this  occasion,  the  Queen  entirely  gave  way  to 
that  prejudice  which  the  ambition  of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens, 
and  the  hatred  of  the  Baron  de  Breteuil,*  inspired  her  with 

*  Louis  August  Le  Tonnelier,  Baron  de  Breteuil,  was,  before  the 
Revolution,  a  member  of  the  French  Diplomatic  Service. 

He  occupied,  for  several  years,  the  post  of  French  Ambassador  at 
St.  Petersburg.  He  was  then  transferred  to  Vienna,  where  he  was 
replaced  by  the  Cardinal  de  Rohan.  This  supersession  gave  him  great 
offence,  and  he  afterwards  took  his  revenge  by  personally  arresting 
the  Cardinal  in  the  Antechamber  of  the  Royal  Chapel  at  Versailles 
in  connection  with  the  celebrated  case  of  the  Queen's  Diamond  Neck- 
lace. 

In  1783,  he  was  appointed  Minister  of  the  King's  Household.  It 
was  one  of  Marie  Antoinette's  most  strongly  marked  characteristics 
that  she  stood  by  her  friends,  who  were  not  always  well  chosen.  In 
the  quarrel,  related  here,  between  Calonne  and  de  Breteuil,  who  was 
her  own  prot€g6,  she  supported  the  latter  and  consequently  Calonne 
was  dismissed. 

Breteuil  opposed  energetically  the  summoning  of  the  States-Gen- 
eral in  1789.  On  the  12th  July  1789,  he  was  summoned  to  take  over 
the  Control  of  the  Finances,  but  Necker's  triumphant  return  a  few 
days  later  deprived  him  of  the  office  of  which  he  had  hardly  time  to 
take  possession. 

In  the  interim  he  urged  the  King  to  retire  to  Compi&gne,  accom- 
panied by  all  that  remained  loyal  of  his  Army.  Failing  to  convince 
Louis  XVI.  of  the  necessity  of  the  step  he  left  France.  As  is  stated 
later  in  these  Memoirs,  he  received  from  the  King  powers  "  to  treat 
with  foreign  courts  and  to  propose  in  the  King's  name  any  meas- 
ures which  would  tend  to  re-establish  the  Royal  Authority  and  the 
internal  tranquillity  of  the  Kingdom." 

These  powers  were  revoked  by  Louis,  when  he  signed  the  Constitu- 
tion,  14  Sept.   1791.     Breteuil  remained  abroad,   chiefly  in  Hamburg, 


110  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

against  M.  de  Calonne.  Her  Majesty  must  have  bitterly  re- 
gretted that  she  ever  employed  her  influence  over  the  King's 
mind  to  ruin  that  minister.  As  I  have  as  much  reason  to  com- 
plain of  him  as  to  praise  him,  I  might,  without  being  sus- 
pected of  prepossession,  either  write  an  eulogium  or  a  criticism 
on  his  conduct,  if  the  one  and  the  other  were  not  equally  for- 
eign to  the  object  of  these  Memoirs.  I  shall  only  observe, 
therefore,  that  in  spite  of  the  vague  and  violent  declamations 
echoed  from  all  parts  of  the  Kingdom  against  this  minister, 
he  certainly  did  nothing  to  justify  the  hatred  and  malice  with 
which  he  was  persecuted.  And  it  is  but  fair  to  state,  in  his 
vindication,  that  although  the  Archbishop  of  Sens  and  M. 
Necker  exhausted  all  their  efforts,  assiduously  examined  all 
the  papers  relating  to  his  administration,  yet  they  never  could 
find  the  smallest  proof  of  those  heavy  charges  which  have  been 
urged  against  him. 

If  M.  de  Calonne  could  have  foreseen  that  the  King  would 
not  permit  him  to  close  the  Assembly  of  Rotables,  he  certainly 
would  have  not  proposed  its  convocation;  but  his  too  great 
security  was  his  chief  error.  He  was  desirous  of  having  his 
plans  adopted  by  this  Assembly,  being  convinced  that  he  could 
demonstrate  their  utility  to  all  who  would  listen  to  argument, 
and  disregarding  those  who  opposed  him  less  from  conviction 
than  from  motives  of  vengeance  and  personal  enmity :  and  he 
had  the  imprudent  integrity  to  include  in  the  list  of  Notables 
almost  all  the  members  of  the  clerg}^,  nobility,  and  the  mag- 
istracy, who,  to  his  knowledge,  were  ill-disposed  to  him. 

To  have  had  nothing  to  fear  from  an  assembly  tlius  com- 
posed, and  to  have  derived  all  the  advantages  which  were  ex- 
pected from  it,  there  was  only  one  line  to  be  pursued ;  namely,  to 

until  May  1802,  when  he  returned  to  France.  The  Empress  Josephine 
afterwards  secured  for  him  a  pension  of  12,000  francs,  on  which  he 
lived  until  his  death  at  the  age  of  77,  in  November  1807. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  Ill 

have  waited  patiently  until  the  committees  had  finished  their 
deliberations,  all  the  while  expressing  the  utmost  gratitude  to 
the  individual  members  for  their  zeal  and  sagacity.  However 
ill-disposed  some  of  them  were,  with  respect  to  M.  de  Calonne, 
not  one  of  them  was  capable  of  giving  a  better  plan  than  his. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  have  any  doubts  on  this  head,  as  it 
has  since  appeared  that  the  Archbishop  of  Sens  and  M. 
Necker  could  do  no  better  than  slavishly  follow  the  line  their 
antagonist  had  traced. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  observation,  that  amongst  all  M.  de 
Calonne's  enemies,  there  is  not  one  whose  perfidy  has  not  been 
unmasked  in  the  course  of  the  Eevolution,  and  whose  name 
is  not  inscribed  in  the  list  of  the  authors  of  the  disasters  of 
France;  while  he  himself  has  acquired  new  rights  to  the  es- 
teem and  gratitude  of  all  good  Frenchmen,  by  his  indefati- 
gable zeal  and  unlimited  sacrifices  for  the  cause  of  monarchy. 

An  account  of  the  administration  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Toulouse  (who  became  Archbishop  of  Sens,  and  afterwards 
a  Cardinal),  being  no  part  of  my  plan,  I  shall  content  myself 
with  observing,  that  no  man's  real  character  seems  ever  to 
have  been  more  misunderstood.  He  was  supposed  to  possess 
energy,  because  he  was  violent;  learning,  because  he  was  posi- 
tive; genius,  because  he  had  vivacity;  talents  for  governing, 
because  he  criticised  the  administrations  of  all  his  predeces- 
sors. His  friends  and  adherents,  however,  have  since  been 
sufficiently  convinced  of  their  mistake,  by  the  weakness  of  his 
resources,  by  his  ignorance,  by  the  incoherence  of  his  ideas,  and 
the  absurdity  of  his  measures. 

After  having  exhausted  the  royal  treasury,  drained  every 
resource,  annihilated  public  credit,  and  ruined  the  powers  of 
the  Crown,  by  employing,  upon  the  slightest  occasion,  those 
acts  of  royal  authority  which  should  be  resorted  to  only  upon 


112  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

the  last  extremity,  such  as  Lits  de  justice,  Lettres  de  cachet,^ 
the  banishment  and  imprisonment  of  the  Magistrates,  he  at 
length,  with  boldness,  but  without  consideration,  attempted 
to  free  the  government  from  the  restraint  of  enregistering 
the  laws  in  the  Sovereign  Courts  of  the  Kingdom,  and  of 
supplying  this  by  enregistering  them  in  a  new  court,  which 
he  named  Cour  Pleniere,  and  pretended  to  re-establish,  al- 
though no  such  Court  had  ever  existed  in  France. 

To  give  to  this  Edict  some  degree  of  splendour,  he  united 
with  it  several  other  laws  relative  to  the  Courts  and  admin- 
istration of  Justice,  containing  reformations  of  the  utmost 
importance.  By  one  of  the  new  laws,  all  the  Sovereign  Courts 
of  the  Kingdom  were  interrupted  till  further  orders,  to  pre- 
vent remonstrances  and  protests  against  that  rash  regulation. 

The  Cardinal  was  extremely  vain  of  having  conceived  this 
last  part  of  the  plan,  which  he  imagined  was  a  stroke  of 
genius,  and  he  wished  to  prevent  its  transpiring  till  the  mo- 
ment of  enregistering  the  Edicts ;  this  was  intended  to  be  done 
by  a  Lit  de  justice  at  Paris,  and  by  royal  commissioners,  at 
the  same  instant,  in  all  courts  of  the  Kingdom.     As  it  would 

6  A  "  Lettre  de  Cachet "  was  a  letter  signed  by  the  King,  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact  more  often  signed  for  him  by  one  of  his  secretaries; 
countersigned  by  the  Minister  to  whose  Department  the  letter  re- 
ferred; and  sealed  with  the  Royal  Arms.  The  term  Lettre  de  Cachet 
first  occurs  in  the  year  1560.  Lettres  de  Cachet  were  used,  as 
everybody  knows,  to  order  the  arbitrary  imprisonment  or  exile  of  an 
individual,  but,  as  is  not  so  generally  known,  they  were  used  more 
frequently  to  express  the  King's  approbation  of  the  conduct  of  one 
of  his  subjects;  to  convoke  public  Assemblies;  to  order  Courts  of  Law 
to  deliberate  on  some  given  subject;  or  to  order  and  regulate  public 
ceremonies  or  state  receptions. 

There  is  no  historical  warrant  for  the  statement,  so  often  made, 
that  Lettres  de  Cachet  were  frequently  (especially  in  the  reign  of 
Louis  XV.)  given  to  favorite  Ministers  or  Mistresses  in  blank,  to  be 
filled  in  as  they  chose. 

Lettres  de  Cachet,  ordering  imprisonment  or  exile,  were  abolished 
by  a  Decree  of  the  Constituent  Assembly,  10  March,  1790. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  113 

have  been  necessary  to  have  trusted  a  great  number  of  clerks, 
if  the  orders  had  been  forwarded  from  the  offices,  according 
to  the  usual  custom,  a  secret  printing-house  was  established 
at  Versailles,  and  the  printers  were  shut  up  and  watched  like 
prisoners  till  the  decrees  were  printed. 

The  important  day,  for  the  universal  enregistering  the 
Edicts,  being  fixed  upon,  the  King's  Commissioners  received 
orders  to  set  out  instantly  for  all  the  cities  in  the  Kingdom, 
where  there  existed  Sovereign  Courts  of  justice,  and  to  re- 
main there  till  they  received  his  Majesty's  further  orders  and 
instructions.  In  the  meantime,  great  pains  were  taken  to 
conceal  the  business  in  agitation.  This  was  so  much  attended 
to,  that  the  orders  for  the  departure  of  the  intendants  passed 
through  the  office  of  the  Minister  of  Finance,  to  make  it 
imagined  that  it  related  to  some  matter  of  that  nature.  But 
in  reality,  neither  the  Minister  of  Finance,  nor  any  other  min- 
ister, except  the  Garde  des  Sceaux  (Lamoignon),  were  in  the 
secret. 

At  the  time  I  received  orders  for  my  departure,  it  was  gen- 
erally suspected  at  Paris  that  the  chief  object  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Sens  was  some  great  reformation  in  the  magistracy; 
and  it  being  contrary  to  my  principles  to  accept  a  commis- 
sion, without  knowing  its  import,  I  took  occasion,  from  the 
above  report,  and  from  my  misunderstanding  with  the  Parle- 
ment  of  Brittany,  to  explain  myself  to  M.  Lamoignon.  I 
expressly  told  him,  "  that  if  the  intended  alteration  was  di- 
rected againt  the  Parlement,  its  success,  no  less  than  my 
delicacy,  required  that  some  other  should  be  employed  in 
Brittany ;  for  if  I  accepted  the  commission,  it  would  never  be 
doubted  but  that  I  was  the  author  of  the  measure,  and  had 
sought  this  occasion  of  revenge;  and  that  such  an  idea  would 
irritate  people's  minds  so  much  against  me,  that  my  services 
in  that  province  would  be  more  prejudicial  than  useful."  He 
Vol.    1—8 


114  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

answered  without  hesitation,  that  I  was  alarmed  without 
cause;  for  that  the  order  for  my  departure  being  drawn  up 
by  the  Minister  of  Finance,  there  was  reason  to  believe 
that  the  object  of  my  commission  regarded  the  business  of  that 
department  only ;  "  and  you  may  be  assured/'  added  he,  "  that 
I  have  no  hand  in  your  being  sent."  My  uneasiness  was  dis- 
sipated by  this  positive  assurance;  and  I  set  out  for  Brittany 
in  the  end  of  April,  with  the  Count  de  Thiard,  who  was  aa 
ill-informed  as  myself  of  the  object  of  our  commission. 

The  Count  de  Thiard  was  one  of  the  most  amiable  men  of 
the  Court.  It  was  impossible  to  have  more  sweetness  of  dispo- 
sition, a  more  pleasing  and  easy  style  of  conversation,  or  a 
more  dignified  and  graceful  manner,  than  he  possessed.  He 
was  generally  beloved,  and  his  company  sought  after  in  all  the 
agreeable  societies  of  Paris  and  of  the  Court;  but  he  was  the 
man  of  all  France  least  calculated  for  business.  It  tired  him 
to  death.  He  even  could  not  comprehend  its  language.  He 
was  for  several  years  Commander-in-Chief  in  Provence,  where 
he  was  adored,  because  he  had  no  duty  to  perform  that  was 
either  difficult  or  disagreeable.  It  seemed  as  if  he  resided  there 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  give  balls  and  entertainments, 
of  which  he  did  the  honours  perfectly  well.  One  of  the 
greatest  blunders  the  Court  could  have  committed,  was  to  send 
a  man  of  this  description,  who  hated  trouble,  to  a  province, 
which,  even  in  ordinary  times,  had  been  considered  as  the  most 
troublesome  to  govern  of  any  in  the  Kingdom;  but  in  times 
of  insurrection,  this  command  ought  to  have  been  given  to  a 
man  inured  to  public  affairs,  and  capable  of  overawing  the 
seditious  by  the  vigour  of  his  character.  It  was  perhaps  im- 
agined, that  the  amiable  qualities  of  M.  de  Thiard  would  have 
compensated  for  that  force  of  character  in  which  he  was  de- 
ficient; but  this  kind  of  compensation  never  succeeded  in 
Brittany.    The  weakness  of  Government,  or  of  its  agents,  wa3 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  115 

always  extremely  dangerous  in  that  province.  The  only  suc- 
cessful method  of  executing  the  King's  orders  was  to  proceed 
in  one  steady  course,  without  being  moved  by  the  clamour  of 
turbulent  spirits,  or  even  by  scissions,  if  they  came  to  be  again 
in  vogue. 

Scission  was  a  term  made  use  of  in  the  provincial 
parlements  and  assemblies  of  the  States,  importing,  that  the 
members  of  the  parlements  or  assemblies  had  broken  off  all 
communication,  of  a  private  or  social  nature,  with  the  intend- 
ant  or  commandant  of  the  province.  A  scission  was  never 
announced  until  it  had  been  formally  deliberated  on  in  a  gen- 
eral meeting  of  the  members.  The  motives  were  sometimes 
of  a  public  and  important  nature,  as  the  registration  of  a  law 
by  the  express  orders  of  the  King;  at  other  times,  the  causes 
assigned  were  rather  frivolous,  such  as  an  expression  used  in 
a  private  society,  and  construed  in  a  bad  sense;  omitting  some 
mark  of  attention,  which,  it  was  thought,  ought  to  have  been 
paid  to  certain  individuals,  as  attending  them  to  the  door,  or, 
inviting  them  to  entertainments.  But  as  the  members  of  those 
assemblies  often  stood  in  need,  for  themselves  or  their  relations, 
of  the  good  offices  of  the  Intendant  or  Commandant,  who  had 
nothing  to  ask  or  expect  in  return,  and  generally  kept  the  best 
tables  and  the  best  wine  in  the  province,  it  will  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  determine  who  were  the  greatest  losers  by  the  scission. 

During  our  journey  to  Eennes,  I  communicated  to  M.  de 
Thiard  what  had  passed  between  the  Chancellor  and  myself; 
and  I  did  not  conceal  my  intention  of  informing  the  First 
President  of  it.  I  had  also  resolved  to  announce  my  arrival 
to  the  members  of  Parlemcnt,  althougli  their  scission  with  me 
might  have  excused  me  from  this  ceremony,  which  was  usual 
when  an  Intendant  arrived  in  the  province  for  the  first  time, 
or  after  having  been  for  any  considerable  time  absent.  T 
waited   accordingly  on   the   President,   and  after  giving   him 


116  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

an  account  of  my  conversation  with  the  Chancellor,  I  ex- 
pressed my  unalterable  attachment  to  the  sound  principles  of 
the  Magistracy,  and  assured  him,  that  it  would  give  me  real 
concern  to  see  them  attacked,  if  notwithstanding  M.  de  La- 
moignon's  assurances,  there  was  any  truth  in  the  report  con- 
cerning the  Archbishop  of  Sens'  project. 

This  conversation,  of  which  the  President  gave  an  account 
to  his  company,  and  the  visits  I  paid  the  same  day  to  all  the 
members  of  the  Parlement,  made  the  scission  be  taken  off  im- 
mediately, and  obtained  me  innumerable  deputations  and  com- 
pliments. 

^Ye  had  been  about  five  days  at  Eennes,  when  a  courier  of 
the  Cabinet  arrived,  with  an  enormous  packet  for  us.  This 
packet  contained  several  others,  some  of  which,  to  the  num- 
ber of  eight  or  nine,  were  only  to  be  opened  in  the  General 
Meeting  of  the  Parlement,  which  we  were  ordered  to  convene 
on  the  following  day;  and  the  other  dispatches  were  to  be 
read  at  the  end  of  the  deliberation.  The  King's  orders,  which 
were  addressed  to  us,  did  not  contain  any  explanation  of  the 
nature  of  the  measure  with  which  we  were  charged;  they  only 
regarded  the  magistracy  and  the  administration  of  justice :  but 
the  cover  of  one  of  the  largest  packets,  which,  from  the  form, 
seemed  to  contain  lettres  de  cachet,  was  a  little  torn  by  the 
motion  of  the  carriage.  I  could  not  resist  my  curiosity  to  know 
whether  or  not  my  conjectures  were  well  founded.  I  tore  it 
a  little  wider,  in  the  presence  of  M.  de  Thiard,  who  was  no 
less  curious  than  myself,  and  I  discovered  that  this  packet 
contained  only  lettres  de  cachet,  and  that  they  were  destined 
for  the  members  of  Parlement. 

No  more  was  requisite  to  convince  me  that  M.  de  Lamoig- 
non's  assurances  (upon  the  faith  of  which  I  left  Paris)  were 
insincere.  But  as  this  was  not  the  case  with  the  declaration 
I   made   to   him,    T   immediately   determined   to   send   in   my 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  117 

resignation,  by  a  letter  which  I  read  to  the  First  President, 
and  to  the  Bishop  of  Kennes,  who  happened  to  be  at  M.  de 
Thiard's  house  when  I  wrote.  My  letter  was  sent  the  same 
day  by  an  extraordinary  courier,  and  the  Bishop  of  Eennes 
set  out  for  Paris,  to  remonstrate  with  the  Archbishop  of  Sens, 
imagining  that  he  had  sufficient  influence  to  prevail  upon  him 
to  renounce,  or  at  least  defer,  the  measure  relating  to  Brit- 
tany, till  the  next  convocation  of  the  states  of  this  province; 
but  he  was  not  listened  to ;  and  I  received  from  M.  de  Lamoig- 
non  the  following  letter: 

"  I  showed  your  letter  to  the  King,  Sir ;  his  Majesty  desires 
me  to  inform  you,  that  he  commands  you,  in  the  first  place, 
to  execute  his  orders,  under  pain  of  disobedience;  and  he  will 
afterwards  determine  concerning  your  resignation." 

This  order  embarrassed  me  extremely,  from  the  difficulty 
there  was  in  reconciling  its  execution  with  what  was  expected 
of  me  by  the  Parlement  and  the  public,  who  were  informed  of 
the  circumstances  of  my  resignation.  My  only  resource  was 
in  M.  Thiard's  ignorance  of  the  duties  which  both  of  us  had 
to  discharge  at  the  General  Meeting  of  the  Parlement,  and  also 
of  the  terms  in  which  our  orders  were  expressed  upon  this  ar- 
ticle. It  was  repeated,  in  almost  every  page,  that  "  the  King's 
first  commissary,  and  in  default  of  him,  his  second,"  should 
give  such  and  such  an  order,  and  should  pronounce  such  a 
decree,  etc.  I  concluded,  that  in  quality  of  the  King's  second 
commissary,  I  had  merely  a  passive  part  to  act  in  the  Assem- 
bly, and  that  my  presence  was  only  necessary  to  supply  the 
place  of  the  first  commissary,  in  case  of  his  sudden  death  or 
sickness.  I  knew  very  well  that  this  was  contrary  to  the  cus- 
tom; but  happily  M.  de  Thiard,  who  never  had  been  engaged 
in  affairs  of  this  kind,  was  ignorant  of  it.  My  reasons  ap- 
peared to  him  very  good,  and  conformable  to  the  tenor  of  our 
orders.     He  did  not  make  the  least  difficulty  on  this  account. 


118  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

but  only  begged  of  me  to  give  him  an  exact  note  in  writing, 
of  all  that  he  should  have  to  do  and  to  say  in  the  Parlement, 
of  the  responses  which  it  was  easy  to  foresee  would  be  made 
to  him,  and  what  he  ought  to  say  in  return.  I  wrote  this  note 
upon  the  spot,  and  made  it  as  clear  as  I  possibly  could;  but 
he  did  not  find  it  such  as  he  desired,  and  begged  of  me  to 
write  another,  in  such  a  manner  that  he  should  only  have  to 
read  over  what  I  wrote.  In  short,  he  required  a  dramatic 
scene,  and  the  part  of  every  actor  so  clearly  specified  as  to  pre- 
vent all  mistakes.  I  set  about  this  task,  and  made  his  part 
so  plain,  that  a  child  of  six  years  old,  who  could  read,  would 
not  have  been  embarrassed;  and  accordingly  M.  de  Thiard  was 
perfectly  satisfied. 

The  greatest,  and  perhaps  the  most  fatal  error,  which  the 
Archbishop  of  Sens  committed,  as  it  began  the  disorganiza- 
tion of  the  army,  was  his  setting  almost  all  the  troops  of  the 
Kingdom  in  motion,  with  a  view  of  overawing  the  people  by 
a  great  appearance  of  force,  and  of  preventing  insurrections 
in  the  towns  where  his  imprudent  measure  was  to  be  executed. 
He  did  not  reflect,  that  discovering  to  the  people  that  an  in- 
surrection is  thought  possible,  suggests  to  them  the  idea  that 
they  are  feared,  and  by  this  very  means  renders  them  formid- 
able. Undoubtedly  Government  ought  always  to  be  in  a  sit- 
uation to  repress  and  punish  insurrections;  but  if,  instead  of 
employing  the  usual  means,  in  the  prudent  manner  that  a 
well-regulated  police  afl^ords,  it  begins  by  what  is  its  last  re- 
source, and  ought  never  to  be  adopted  except  in  the  utmost 
extremity,  by  exhibiting  the  whole  armed  force  before  the 
eyes  of  the  people  at  once,  the  multitude  are  soon  familiar- 
ised to  what  was  intended  to  impress  them  with  terror;  they 
see  the  utmost  force  that  can  be  brouglit  against  them,  they 
compare  it  with  their  own  numbers,  and  are  inspired  wiili 
courage,  from  a  conviction  of  their  own  superiority.     Thus 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  119 

many  regiments  may  have  less  effect  than  a  detachment  of 
fifty  dragoons,  under  more  prudent  management,  would  have 
had.  In  the  year  1771,  the  Duke  of  Fitzjames  employed  only 
three  brigades  of  Marechassee  to  consummate,  in  Brittany, 
the  most  absolute,  and  perhaps  the  most  arbitrary  act  of  au- 
thority which  was  ever  exerted  in  France;  namely,  the  sup- 
pression of  all  the  Parlement  of  the  Kingdom,  and  the  instal- 
lation of  new  judges;  and  the  King's  commands  were  fully 
executed,  without  causing  the  least  popular  commotion.  No 
one  even  dared  to  murmur  upon  the  occasion.  It  will  be  seen, 
in  the  following  chapter,  that  M.  de  Thiard,  with  much  more 
considerable  means,  was  employed  to  carry  a  much  less  violent 
measure  in  the  same  province,  and  failed  in  a  manner  that 
proved  fatal  to  the  royal  authority. 


PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 


CHAPTER  III. 

General  Meeting  of  the  Parlements. —  Arrival  of  the  King's  Com- 
missaries in  the  Palais. —  Riot  of  the  attorneys'  clerks. —  Diffi- 
culty which  the  King's  Commissaries  found  to  enter  the  Grand 
Chamber. —  An  account  of  what  passed  at  this  sitting. —  Retreat 
of  the  King's  Commissaries. —  The  insults  which  they  received. — 
Insurrection  of  the  people. —  Violent  excesses  committed  against 
the  soldiers. —  The  arrival  of  fresh  troops  at  Rennes. —  The  in- 
utility of  this  measure. —  Its  consequences. 

The  Parlement  being  assembled  on  the  lOth  of  May,  at 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  according  to  the  King's  orders, 
I  went  there  along  with  M.  de  Thiard.  A\'e  went  escorted  by 
his  guard,  and  by  a  detachment  of  the  regiment  of  Rohan. 
The  troops  were  ranged  on  both  sides  of  the  street  as  we 
went  to  the  palace.  The  profound  silence  which  prevailed 
for  some  time,  as  we  moved  along,  was  soon  interrupted  by 
hisses,  and  the  noise  of  catcalls  from  the  windows,  which  were 
repeated  by  the  mob  in  the  street,  who  became  more  daring 
and  noisy  when  they  observed  that  the  soldiers  took  no  notice 
of  them. 

M.  de  Thiard  had  not  placed  any  troops  within  the  walls 
of  the  Law  Courts,  having  been  assured  that  such  a  measure 
was  absolutely  unnecessary,  and  that  the  Parlement  would 
be  extremely  flattered  by  this  mark  of  confidence.  But  the 
consequence  was,  that  we  found  the  halls,  and  all  the  passages 
to  them,  crowded  with  young  people,  most  of  them  attorneys' 
or  lawyers'  clerks,  who  received  us  with  the  most  insolent 
clamour  of  hissing  and  hallooing.  Vi^e  were  so  surrounded, 
that  we  found  Fome  difficulty  in  gaining  the  door  of  the  great 
chamber.     After  knocking  a  full  quarter  of  an  hour,  without 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  121 

obtaining  admittance,  we  went  to  another  door,  accompanied 
by  a  crowd  of  the  Spectators,  who  laughed  at  our  embarrass- 
ment, and  their  mirth  increased  when  they  saw  that  our  at- 
tempts to  enter  at  the  second  door  were  equally  unsuccessful. 
We  next  went  to  the  Parquet,  a  large  room  in  the  Palais 
where  the  King's  advocates  and  attorneys  assemble,  where  we 
found  some  of  the  Eoyal  officials.  M.  de  Thiard  complained, 
with  great  mildness,  of  the  incivility  of  the  clerks  belonging 
to  the  palace,  and  of  the  obstacles  we  found  in  entering.  He 
begged  the  Attorney-General  to  give  notice  to  the  President 
of  our  arrival,  and  to  let  him  know  that  we  waited  for  en- 
trance, until  he  should  order  the  messenger  to  open  the  door. 
A  quarter  of  an  hour  elapsed  without  our  receiving  any  an- 
swer. We  sent  a  second  message,  and  at  the  same  time  M. 
de  Thiard  gave  orders  to  the  commanding  officer  of  the  regi- 
ment to  send  the  grenadier  company  to  the  palace.  We  waited 
another  quarter  of  an  hour;  after  which,  the  Assembly  being 
informed  of  the  order  given  to  the  grenadier  company,  gave 
us  to  understand  that  we  must  send  our  request  in  writing. 

Notwithstanding  the  irregularity  of  this  demand,  after  a 
moment's  pause,  we  sent  the  request  in  writing,  as  they  re- 
quired, and  we  went  again  to  the  door  of  the  Grand  Chamber. 
On  our  way,  I  was  informed  by  a  confidential  person,  that 
notice  was  given  to  all  the  tradesmen  in  town  to  assemble  in 
the  square  of  the  Law  Courts  at  three  o'clock,  armed  with 
cudgels,  the  instruments  of  their  professions,  and  in  the  best 
manner  they  could.  He  added,  that  very  violent  projects  were 
formed.  It  immediately  occurred  to  me,  that  one  means  of 
oversetting  these  projects,  and  the  best  which  could  be  adopted 
in  the  present  circumstances,  would  be  to  abridge  the  sitting, 
by  having  the  laws  registered  in  the  short  manner  that  regis- 
trations are  made  in  the  lits  de  justice;  namely,  by  writing 
only  the  first  and  last  line,  and  leaving  a  blank  space  between 


122  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

them  sufficient  for  inserting  the  whole  afterwards.  I  proposed 
this  matter  to  M.  de  Thiard,  who  approved  of  it,  and  desired 
me  to  write  it  down  in  his  paper  of  memorandums. 

The  door  of  the  Grand  Chamber  w^as  at  last  opened  to  us; 
but  M.  de  Thiard  had  previously  ordered  the  officer  of  the 
grenadier  company  to  oblige  all  strangers  to  withdraw,  and 
allow  none  to  enter  afterwards.  When  we  had  taken  our  seats, 
M.  de  Thiard  pronounced  a  few  sentences,  expressive  of  his 
regret  in  being  forced,  by  the  King's  orders,  to  execute  a  com- 
mission which  might  perhaps  be  disagreeable  to  the  Parle- 
ment,  though  he  was  himself  ignorant  of  the  object  of  it.  And 
I  immediately  afterwards  said,  that  "  notwithstanding  my 
having  received  the  King's  express  commands  to  assist  at  this 
sitting,  I  was  happy  in  having  no  part  to  perform  on  the  pres- 
ent occasion,  as  his  Majesty's  Commissioner,  and  in  being  al- 
lowed the  place  I  was  entitled  to  in  the  Assembly  as  maitre 
des  requetes  (a  legal  magistracy)  which  I  would  be  ever  proud 
to  deserve,  by  my  inviolable  attachment  to  the  magistracy 
and  the  laws,  to  which  the  true  interest  of  the  King  could 
never  be  in  opposition." 

I  had  all  M.  de  Thiard's  papers  before  me,  and  also  all  the 
packets  containing  the  laws  to  be  registered ;  and  while  he  was 
pronouncing  his  speech,  I  took  that  opportunity  to  write  upon 
his  memorandum  the  form  of  the  order  of  registration,  by  the 
first  and  last  line.  After  having  written  this  for  his  instruc- 
tion, I  ostentatiously  put  another  paper,  which  I  held  in  my 
hand,  into  my  pocket ;  and  to  make  those  who  saw  me  writing 
imagine  that  I  was  only  taking  a  note  of  the  exact  time  when 
the  seance  began,  I  had  looked  at  my  watch  the  instant  before 
I  began  to  write.  I  placed  all  the  papers,  regularly  numbered, 
before  M.  de  Thiard,  so  that  he  could  make  no  mistake,  if  he 
only  took  up  the  first  that  lay  nearest  his  hand.  T  tliought 
I  had  so  well  provided  against  all  difficulties  which  might  OC' 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  123 

cur,  that  I  should  have  nothing  to  do  or  to  say  in  this  sitting. 
M.  de  Thiard  could  have  conducted  it  without  difficulty,  by 
simply  adhering  to  his  written  instructions.  Indeed,  a  person 
of  the  lowest  capacity  could  hardly  have  been  embarrassed; 
but  M.  de  Thiard's  extreme  politeness  carried  him  so  much 
beyond  the  proper  bounds,  in  the  very  opening  of  the  Assem- 
bly, that  I  was  forced,  for  a  moment,  to  relinquish  the  passive 
part  which  I  had  intended  to  act.  "WTien  he  read  the  order  of 
registration  by  the  first  and  last  line,  there  arose  a  slight  mur- 
mur in  the  Assembly,  which  I  did  not  inquire  into  the  cause 
of;  but  I  thought  it  necessary  to  observe,  that  this  method  of 
registration  was  constantly  adopted  in  the  lits  de  justice.  Here 
M.  de  Thiard,  carried  away  by  his  natural  complaisance,  and 
forgetting  his  instructions,  very  politely  proposed  to  the  As- 
sembly to  have  the  registration  made  out  in  the  usual  way, 
if  that  was  more  agreeable  to  them.  Thinking  it  necessary 
to  cut  the  matter  short,  I  immediately  said  aloud,  to  M.  de 
Thiard,  that  the  Assembly  could  not  make  any  reply  to  his 
proposition,  because,  before  they  did,  it  would  be  necessary 
that  they  should  deliberate;  but  that  he  had  already  deprived 
them  of  that  power  by  declaring  the  King's  order,  which  ex- 
pressly interdicted  all  deliberations. 

M.  de  Thiard's  incapacity  for  business,  or  at  least  his  ig- 
norance of  forms,  was  now  evident  to  the  Assembly,  and  they 
endeavoured  to  take  advantage  of  it.  The  first  clerk,  either 
of  himself,  or  by  the  advice  of  some  of  the  members,  refused 
to  register  hy  the  first  and  last  line,  and  began  to  transcribe 
the  whole  law  which  had  just  then  been  pronounced.  After 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  had  elapsed,  without  his  returning 
to  his  seat,  I  began  to  suspect  what  was  passing,  and  gave  M. 
de  Thiard  a  hint,  upon  which  he  summoned  the  clerk,  and 
asked  what  had  detained  him.  He  answered,  that  the  tran- 
scription was  not  finished.     M.  de  Thiard,  finding  that  it  was 


124  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

not  executed  according  to  his  orders,  renewed  his  injunctions, 
under  pain  of  disobedience;  but  this  produced  no  effect.  The 
clerk  being  again  summoned,  and  interrogated  upon  the  mo- 
tives of  his  disobedience,  declared  that  he  would  not  execute 
the  order,  unless  it  was  given  him  in  writing.  The  form  of 
this  order  was  simple;  but  M.  de  Thiard,  who  had  never  writ- 
ten one  of  that  kind,  desired  me  to  dictate  it  to  him.  I  said 
to  him,  that  he  had  only  to  write  his  name  and  titles  at  the 
liead  of  the  order  which  he  had  already  pronounced.  One  of 
the  members  of  the  Parlement  ardently  wished  that  the  sit- 
ting might  be  prolonged  till  the  mob  had  time  to  assemble 
in  the  square  of  the  Law  Courts ;  and  he  could  not  forgive  me 
the  crime  of  having  disappointed  his  views,  by  the  advice 
which  I  gave  M.  de  Thiard  upon  this  occasion.  He  threw 
several  notes  out  of  the  window,  to  inform  the  public  what 
passed  in  the  Assembly.  One  of  them  contained  these  words : 
"  The  Intendant  is  the  cause  of  all  the  mischief.  He  is  a 
monster  who  must  be  stifled."  M.  de  Coudic  was  the  name 
of  the  member  who  wrote  this  note.  I  name  him,  to  prevent 
others  from  being  suspected  of  so  unworthy  an  action.  The 
man,  unfortunately,  was  not  quite  mad  enough  to  be  shut  up. 
I  say  unfortunately,  because  in  times  of  public  fermentation 
it  is  under  men  of  this  description  that  the  multitude  arrange 
themselves,  and  are  carried  to  the  most  desperate  acts  of  vio- 
lence. M.  de  Coudic,  misled  by  parliamentary  fanaticism,  was 
the  chief  instigator  of  all  the  troubles  which  took  place  in 
Eennes,  from  which  the  Eevolution  in  reality  began.  Imme- 
diately upon  its  breaking  out,  he  became  one  of  its  most  furious 
demagogues.  He  afterwards  came  to  London,  where  he  as- 
sociated himself  with  some  of  the  most  seditious  clubs,  and 
where  he  died,  after  having  published  a  furious  and  extrava- 
gant pamphlet  against  monarchical  government. 

All  difficulties  being  at  last  surmounted,  the  sitting  con- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  125 

tinned  without  further  interruption,  and  broke  up  at  half  past 
twelve,  to  the  great  surprise  of  the  public,  who  were  just  then 
informed,  by  the  arrival  of  the  courier  from  Nantes,  that  the 
same  measure,  in  the  Chamber  of  Accounts,  had  detained  the 
Assembly  there  thirty  hours;  and  it  was  known  a  few  days 
after,  that  it  had  taken  up  nearly  the  same  time  in  all  the 
sovereign  courts  of  the  Kingdom,  from  its  not  having  occurred 
to  any  of  the  commissioners  to  employ  the  expeditious  form 
of  registering  by  the  first  and  last  line. 

In  consequence  of  the  order  which  had  been  given,  of  ad- 
mitting nobody  into  the  palace,  there  were  few  assembled  at 
the  gate,  and  a  profound  calm  prevailed  when  we  came  out. 
M.  de  Thiard  concluded  that  the  same  tranquillity,  pre- 
vailed all  over  the  town;  and  he  gave  orders  to  the  detach- 
ment, who  waited  to  conduct  us,  to  remain  in  the  square,  as 
we  had  no  occasion  for  an  escort.  We  were  only  attended  by 
tlie  guard  of  the  Commandant,  which  consisted  of  about  eight- 
een or  twenty  at  the  utmost.  As  long  as  we  were  in  the 
street  which  goes  immediately  from  the  square,  where  the 
regiment  of  Rohan  was  stationed,  the  fear  it  inspired  pre- 
served us,  thus  far,  from  being  insulted  otherwise  than  by 
hissings  and  whistlings,  accompanied  by  the  cry  of  liaro  (a 
cry  used  in  Normandy  and  Brittany,  before  an  attack),  from 
the  people  who  surrounded  us.  M.  de  Thiard  mistook  this 
for  the  usual  cry  of  vive  le  roi;  but  hardly  had  we  turned  into 
the  street  which  leads  to  the  Government  House  than  he  was 
undeceived;  for  the  hisses  and  cries  redoubled,  and  were  fol- 
lowed by  a  shower  of  stones,  levelled,  at  first,  at  our  chairs, 
which  were  carried  after  us :  but  the  attack  soon  became  more 
direct,  which  did  not,  however,  prevent  us  from  moving  for- 
ward in  the  same  order.  I  was  saluted  on  the  head  with  a 
large  stone,  wliich  would  certainly  have  extended  me  motion- 
less in  the  street,  if  it  had  ])een  directed  in  full  force  against 


126  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

me;  but  having  been  originally  intended  for  M.  de  Thi- 
ard,  his  servant  interposed  his  arm,  which  saved  his 
master,  and  undesignedly  sent  the  stone  against  me.  I 
was  for  some  time  stunned;  but  when  I  recovered  my 
senses,  and  saw  the  size  of  the  stone,  I  was  very  thankful  that 
I  had  come  off  so  well.  M.  de  Thiard's  servant  was  incapable 
of  using  his  arm  for  several  months.  The  crowd  now  began 
to  increase,  and  pressed  so  near  us,  that  we  were  forced  to 
precipitate  our  retreat  in  some  disorder.  We  got  into  the 
residence  of  the  Commandant  without  any  further  accident, 
a  military  detachment  having  met  us  near  the  house,  and  for- 
tunately prevented  the  populace  from  overtaking  us.  The  sol- 
diers, ^however,  were  forced  to  point  their  bayonets,  to  stop 
some  of  the  boldest  of  the  multitude  from  bursting  in;  Avhich 
after  all,  they  would  probably  have  effected,  had  not  a  young 
officer  rushed,  quite  unarmed,  betwixt  the  people  and  the  bay- 
onets, to  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood.  This  generous  action 
produced  a  very  happy  effect,  by  the  turn  it  gave  to  the  sen- 
sations of  the  people.  In  their  enthusiastic  admiration  they 
seized  upon  the  officer,  raised  him  in  their  arms,  with  repeated 
acclamations  of  praise.  That  part  of  the  mob,  who  were  most 
distant  from  the  scene,  not  knowing  what  had  taken  place, 
concluded  that  the  officer,  whom  they  saw  elevated,  was  an 
enemy  to  the  people;  on  which  they  began  to  throw  stones 
with  great  fury,  and  the  young  man  was  slightly  wounded  in 
the  forehead.  When  the  people  immediately  around  him  saw 
the  blood  flow,  they  gave  him  all  the  assistance  in  their  power, 
with  every  expression  of  sympathy.  In  short,  he  so  completely 
occupied  them,  that  the  "  Cour  Pleniere  "  (the  law  courts  in- 
tended to  be  established)  and  the  King's  Commissioners  were 
for  some  time  forgotten. 

The  capital  error  which  M.  de  Thiard  committed,  and  what 
immediately  occasioned  the  insurrection,  was  the  order  he  was 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  127 

known  to  have  given  to  the  troops  not  to  make  any  use  of  their 
arms,  except  to  intimidate;  for  he  had  directed  that  the  sol- 
diers should  put  the  rammers  into  the  barrel  of  their  firelocks 
in  sight  of  the  populace,  to  prove  clearly,  in  case  they  should 
have  harboured  any  suspicion  of  being  fired  upon,  that  no 
harm  was  intended.  Having  received  this  pledge  of  their  se- 
curity, the  mob  became  insolent  and  outrageous  in  the  highest 
degree,  while  the  soldiers,  on  the  other  hand,  were  intimidated 
and  passive,  suffering  themselves  to  be  cuffed  and  kicked,  and 
even  allowing  their  arms  to  be  taken  from  them,  without  at- 
tempting retaliation  or  resistance.  In  short,  a  party  of  sixty 
armed  soldiers  were  so  obedient  to  the  orders  of  remaining  pas- 
sive, as  tamely  to  allow  their  sentry-box  to  be  broken  in  pieces 
by  an  inconsiderable  mob,  and  they  themselves  to  be  beaten 
and  wounded  by  the  broken  pieces  of  this  very  box. 

The  people  were  emboldened  to  these  excesses,  rather  from 
the  impunity  with  which  they  were  permitted  to  act,  than 
from  any  idea  they  had  of  their  own  strength.  At  first  the 
disorder  might  have  been  suppressed,  if  M.  de  Tliiard  had 
given  orders  aloud  to  charge  immediately,  and  fire  upon  those 
who  did  not  disperse  at  the  first  warning;  but  most  unfor- 
tunately, he  thought  it  would  be  better  to  endeavour  to  over- 
awe the  people  by  a  more  considerable  appearance  of  force ;  and 
that  very  night  he  dispatched  couriers  to  St.  Malo,  with  or- 
ders for  fresh  battalions  of  infantry,  a  few  squadrons  of  cav- 
alry, with  some  pieces  of  artillery,  to  march  immediately  to 
Eennes.  This  little  army  would  certainly  have  been  suffi- 
cient to  ransack  the  town,  and  exterminate  the  inliabitants ; 
but  as  the  character  of  M.  de  Thiard  was  too  well  known  for 
him  to  be  suspected  of  having  such  designs,  the  arrival  of 
those  troops,  so  far  from  terrifying  the  multitude,  only  ren- 
dered the  insurrection  more  general,  and  augmente(J  the  morti- 
fication and  disgust  of  the  soldiers,  who  were  full  of  indig- 
nation at  the  despicable  part  which  they  had  been  made  to  act. 


PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 


CHAPTEE  IV. 

Assemblies  held  in  the  Reading  Room. —  Consequences  of  these  as- 
semblies.—  Imprudent  conversations  of  M.  de  Thiard. —  The  dan- 
ger to  which  I  was  exposed  by  them. —  A  parody  of  the  lit  de 
justice  exhibited  in  the  streets  by  the  chimney-sweepers. —  The 
Parlement  meets. —  Weak  measures  to  separate  it. —  General  in- 
surrection.—  Violence  of  the  Attorney-General. —  Deputation  of 
the  Parlement. —  Publication  of  its  decisions. —  Conduct  of  the 
nobility,  with  respect  to  M.  d'Hervilly. —  Weakness  of  M.  de 
Thiard. 

It  was  particularly  recommended  to  M.  de  Thiard  and  me, 
in  our  instructions,  to  prevent  the  Parlement  from  assembling 
in  the  Law  Court,  or  elsewhere,  after  the  registering,  and  a 
sufficient  number  of  leitres  de  cachet  were  sent  us  to  banish 
the  members  to  their  estates,  in  case  we  found  that  measure 
indispensably  necessary.  M.  de  Thiard  informed  the  Presi- 
dent of  this,  and  assured  him,  that  he  should  regret  extremely 
if  the  Parlement,  by  infringing  the  King's  orders,  forced  him 
upon  such  strong  measures.  The  President  promised  him  to 
do  all  that  depended  upon  him  to  prevent  the  Parlement  from 
meeting.  Accordingly,  next  day,  about  the  same  hour,  sev- 
eral members  having  met  at  his  house,  and  M.  de  Thiard  being 
informed  of  it,  and  expressing  his  uneasiness,  the  President 
immediately  begged  of  the  members  to  withdraw. 

But. while  the  Parlement  gave  this  example  of  submission 
to  the  King's  will,  assemblies  were  held,  night  and  morning, 
in  the  different  Heading  Rooms  at  Pennes,  which  might  be 
looked  upon  as  so  many  clubs.  These  were  composed  of  citi- 
zens of  every  class,  but  chiefly  of  those  intemperate  spirits 
who  were   perpetually  occupied  in  discussing  political   ques- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  129 

tions,  replacing  the  means  of  insurrection,  and  in  corrupting 
or  intimidating  the  soldiers,  etc.  These  fire-brands  of  sedi- 
tion required  to  be  the  more  strictly  attended  to,  as  it  was 
easy  to  perceive  that  their  design  was  to  force  the  members 
of  the  Parlement  to  assemble,  as  the  only  means  by  which  they 
could  screen  themselves  from  the  reproach  of  cowardice,  and 
from  the  insults  of  the  populace.  This  happened,  accord- 
ingly, a  few  days  after,  as  I  had  foretold  M.  de  Thiard,  who 
unfortunately  would  not  believe  me;  yet  he  was  continually 
saying  that,  for  his  own  part,  he  understood  nothing  of  busi- 
ness ;  and  he  did  not  scruple  to  add,  that  it  was  the  Intendant 
who  directed  every  thing.  There  was  more  truth  in  the  first 
of  these  assertions  than  in  the  second;  our  characters  were 
too  opposite  for  my  advice  to  suit  him,  and  accordingly  he 
seldom  followed  it.  But  his  discourse,  which  was  circulated 
in  the  town,  increased  the  discontent  against  me  and  the  dan- 
ger to  which  I  was  exposed,  as  appeared  by  some  very  violent 
libels  which  were  published  against  me.  I  was  even  threat- 
ened with  assassination,  which,  indeed,  might  easily  have  been 
executed,  as  it  was  known  that  I  went  every  evening  to  M.  de 
Thiard's,  and  always  returned  home  about  the  same  hour,  at- 
tended by  one  servant  only.  But  happily  France  was  not  then 
so  much  familiarised  with  assassination  as  it  has  been  since; 
and  notwithstanding  the  cautions  which  I  frequently  received 
to  avoid  one  particular  corner  of  a  street,  and  not  to  pass 
through  another,  I  never  was  under  the  necessity  of  making 
use  of  the  pistols  which  it  was  known  I  always  carried  in  my 
pocket.  But  I  was  assured,  indeed,  that  on  one  occasion  a 
woman  had  prevented  her  son  from  firing  a  musket  at  me  from 
her  window. 

The  military  officers  were  not  received  in  any  family  in 
town;  and  there  never  passed  a  day  in  which  some  of  the  sol- 
diers were  not  attacked  or  beaten.     We  were  not  much  more 
Vol.  1—9 


130  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

respected  ourselves.  We  seldom  appeared  in  the  streets  with- 
out hearing  very  disagreeable  comments  passed  upon  us.  To 
these  M.  de  Thiard  always  returned  a  gracious  smile,  which 
the  populace  (not  comprehending  its  refined  delicacy)  im- 
puted to  affectation,  or  took  for  a  sign  of  fear.  This  cus- 
tom of  overlooking  every  attempt  which  was  made  against  royal 
authority,  and  the  license  which  was  given  to  degrade  and 
insult  the  persons  employed  to  support  it,  inspired  the  leaders 
of  the  insurrection  with  the  highest  degree  of  insolence.  A 
farce  was  acted  in  the  squares  and  public  streets,  particularly 
under  the  windows  of  the  Commandant  and  the  Intendant, 
which  was  designed  as  a  burlesque  on  the  lits  de  justice,  the 
last  session  of  the  Parlement,  and  some  of  the  new  laws.  This 
piece  was  performed  by  shoe-blacks  and  chimney-sweepers, 
dressed  in  tattered  black  robes,  square  caps,  and  paper  cravats, 
and  seated  on  the  little  stools  which  those  blackguards  brought 
for  the  occasion,  giving,  as  it  was  said,  an  exact  representation 
of  the  scheme  of  putting  the  Judge  on  a  level  with  the  judged. 
Printed  papers,  giving  an  account  of  all  that  passed  at  this 
royal  sitting  of  shoe-blacks,  were  distributed  with  profusion 
among  the  populace.  These  papers  contained  also  the  speeches 
which  the  actors  in  this  farce  w^ere  supposed  to  have  pro- 
nounced, but  which  the  loud  applause  and  mirth  of  the  im- 
mense crowds  which  followed  them  prevented  from  being 
heard. 

M.  de  Thiard,  who  dined  with  me  that  day,  happened  to 
arrive  while  this  entertainment  was  going  forward  under  my 
window.  The  idea  appeared  to  him  very  amusing;  and  he 
endeavoured  to  make  me  laugh  at  some  of  the  sarcasms  con- 
tained in  a  piece,  where  we  were  both  made  to  act  the  lowest 
and  most  indecent  parts.  T  could  not  help  saying  to  him, 
with  some  degree  of  spleen,  "  that  if  this  farce  had  been  acted 
in    Constantinople,    and    I    had    read    the   account    of   it   in 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  131' 

the  Gazette,  I  might  perhaps  have  been  as  much  inclined  to 
laugh  as  he  was;  but  that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  find 
any  amusement  in  seeing  the  King's  authority  so  scandalously 
degraded."  This  was  the  case  already,  to  such  a  degree,  that 
the  spirit  of  revolt  infected  every  class.  The  Parlement,  which 
had  till  then  given  an  example  of  submission  to  his  Majesty's 
orders,  was  loudly  accused  of  having  sold  itself  to  the  Court, 
and  was  in  a  manner  compelled,  by  circumstances,  to  in- 
fringe the  interdiction  against  assembling. 

The  guard,  which  was  placed  at  the  Law  Courts,  having 
orders  to  let  nobody  enter,  the  magistrates  chose,  as  a  place 
of  meeting,  the  house  of  one  of  the  Presidents,  situated  opposite 
to  the  Intendant's  residence.  The  Assembly  met  at  five  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  As  soon  as  M.  de  Thiard  was  informed  of 
this,  he  sent  a  detachment  of  the  regiment  of  Rohan,  and 
charged  the  officer  who  commanded  to  order  the  Parlement, 
in  the  King's  name,  to  separate  immediately.  But  the  doors 
were  barricaded.  After  knocking  several  times,  without  be- 
ing answered,  the  officer  contented  himself  with  keeping  the 
house  blockaded,  as  he  had  no  orders  to  force  it  open.  As 
soon  as  it  was  known  in  the  town  that  the  Parlement  was  as- 
sembled and  besieged  in  the  "  Hotel  de  Cuille"  the  people 
gathered  in  crowds  to  protect  the  magistrates.  A  great  many 
gentlemen  came  with  their  swords,  and  unfortunately  their 
discourse  and  their  example  encouraged  the  people  to  insult 
the  troops  in  the  grossest  manner.  The  Attorney-General  him- 
self, who  arrived  at  that  moment,  in  his  robes,  to  join  the  As- 
sembly, had  the  imprudence  to  call  the  soldiers  "  vile  satellites 
of  despotism,"  and  to  threaten  to  deliver  them  up  to  the  fury 
of  the  people.  My  advice  had  not  been  asked  in  any  of  these 
measures,  I  did  not  understand  what  had  occasioned  the  tu- 
mult, nor  the  meaning  of  the  clamours  I  heard  while  in  my 
closet.     At  nine  o'clock  in  tbe  morning  I  received  a  note  from 


132  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

M.  de  Thiard,  in  which  he  desired  me  to  go  to  him.  I  sent 
him  for  answer,  "  that  the  mob  was  at  my  door,  and  that  I 
could  not  go  out,  without  exposing  myself  to  be  massacred; 
that  I  did  not  think  I  ought  to  run  such  a  risk  without  an 
absolute  necessity:  it  was  therefore  expedient  we  should  com- 
municate by  writing/'  He  immediately  wrote  me  a  second 
note,  in  which  he  gave  me  to  understand,  that  the  King's 
service  absolutely  exacted  of  me  to  go  to  him  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, in  order  to  consult  and  determine  upon  the  measures 
which  were  to  be  taken;  and  that  he  had  sent  an  escort  to 
accompany  me.  This  escort,  composed  of  eight  soldiers  and 
an  officer,  was  more  fit  to  expose  me  to  observation,  and  con- 
sequently to  insult,  than  to  protect  me  against  such  a  crowd 
of  assailants,  whom  the  known  benignity  of  M.  de  Thiard's 
orders  had  taught  to  face  the  soldiers  without  fear,  however 
great  their  number.  In  yielding  to  the  requisition  of  M.  de 
Thiard,  I  thought  it  would  be  prudent  to  supply  the  want  of 
proper  protection  by  stratagem ;  I  therefore  made  the  eight 
soldiers  be  placed  without  the  great  gate  of  my  house,  as  if 
they  had  been  sent  there  to  defend  the  entry.  I  agreed  with 
the  officer  that  I  should  go  out  by  a  small  door,  and  as  soon 
as  he  saw  me  pass,  he  was  to  put  himself  in  motion  with  the 
soldiers,  and  follow  me  at  about  the  distance  of  forty  paces. 
T  also  had  the  precaution  not  to  appear  in  the  black  robe,  or 
with  long  dressed  hair,  as  I  had  hitherto  always  done.  My 
stratagem  succeeded  perfectly  at  first.  I  passed  within  ten 
paces  of  the  mob,  without  attracting  any  attention.  They 
were  entirely  occupied  by  a  detachment  of  dragoons,  who  came 
to  support  the  siege  or  blockade  of  the  "  Hotel  de  CuilU,"  and 
who,  instead  of  marching  against  the  mob,  whom  they  might 
have  dispersed  in  a  twinkling,  formally  drew  themselves  up 
according  to  the  orders  of  M.  de  Thiard,  and  stood  peaceable 
spectators  in  the  walk  which  overlooks  that  part  of  the  town. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  133 

A  few  moments  afterwards  I  met  a  dragoon,  who,  in  gallop- 
ing to  join  the  detachment,  chased  before  him  all  the  people 
that  were  in  the  street.  Twenty-five  dragoons,  I  am  convinced, 
by  a  brisk  charge,  would  have  been  sufficient  to  put  all  the  in- 
habitants of  the  town  to  flight. 

A\lien  I  arrived  at  the  top  of  the  street  which  leads  to  the 
Commandant's  hotel,  I  saw,  at  the  gate,  a  mob,  consisting  of 
about  two  thousand  people,  through  which  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  for  me  to  pass.  I  had  not  gone  far  into  the  street 
when  I  was  discovered;  and  immediately  there  was  a  general 
shout  of  "  haro,  against  the  Intendant,"  accompanied  with  the 
most  furious  imprecations.  I  did  not  hesitate  respecting  the 
part  I  had  to  take.  To  have  retreated  would  have  been  as 
mean  as  unsafe;  and  it  appeared  to  me,  that  my  only  resource 
was  to  endeavour  to  overawe  them  by  an  intrepid  countenance. 
I  imperceptibly  relaxed  my  pace,  to  give  the  officer,  who  fol- 
lowed me,  time  to  come  nearer  me.  I  rejected  his  proposal, 
however,  of  placing  me  in  the  midst  of  the  escort,  directing 
him  to  continue  to  follow,  but  to  keep  nearer,  and  to  order 
his  men  to  walk  firm  and  erect.  I  myself,  in  the  meantime, 
continued  my  pace  with  as  undaunted  an  air  as  I  could  as- 
sume, in  spite  of  the  cries  of  haro,  which  redoubled  with  vio- 
lence as  we  approached.  ^Mien  we  had  got  within  ten  paces 
of  this  mob,  who  were  armed  with  sticks  and  stones,  I  put 
my  hands  into  my  pockets,  to  make  them  believe  that  I  was 
provided  with  pistols.  I  advanced,  fixing  the  boldest  of  them 
with  a  steady  eye,  and  walked  straight  forward  betwixt  the 
crowd  and  the  wall  of  the  hotel,  as  if  the  street  had  been  quite 
clear.  It  became  so  for  me.  At  this  critical  moment  the 
shouts  ceased  at  once,  as  if  an  order  had  been  issued  for  that 
purpose,  the  crowd  opened  to  the  right  and  left  as  I  advanced, 
and  I  entered  M.  de  Thiard's  liotel  without  any  one  having 
dared  to  throw  a  stone  at  me,  or  to  insult  me  in  any  way. 


134  PRIVATE  aiEMOIRS  OF 

I  was  hardly  entered,  when  the  cry  of  haro  was  renewed 
with  fresh  vigour,  in  spite  of  a  body  of  fifty  dragoons  who 
stood  at  the  gate,  like  so  many  equestrian  statues.  They  were 
looked  upon  so  much  in  that  light,  that  amongst  those  who 
surrounded  them  there  were  people  bold  enough  to  pass  under 
the  horses,  and  cut  the  girths  of  two  or  three  saddles. 

I  found  M.  de  Thiard  calmly  conversing  with  some  officers, 
not  knowing  any  thing  of  what  passed  at  his  gate,  nor  com- 
prehending the  meaning  of  the  shouts  he  heard.  I  said  to 
him,  with  some  heat,  that  he  ought  to  know,  better  than  me, 
the  cause  of  the  clamour;  that  it  was  the  consequence  of  a 
general  insurrection,  which  existed  since  six  in  the  morning, 
and  had  been  excited  by  a  measure,  in  which,  as  he  well  knew, 
I  had  no  part,  since  he  had  given  orders  without  saying  a  word 
to  me.  He  excused  himself,  by  saying  that  he  did  not  think 
it  necessary  to  disturb  me,  because  he  had  never  doubted  but 
that  the  Parlement  would  separate  as  soon  as  the  troops  ar- 
rived. He  then  consulted  me  upon  what  was  to  be  done. 
"  That  is  what  you  ought  to  find  in  your  instructions,"  said 
I  to  him ;  "  it  is  for  you  to  consider  whether  you  will  follow 
them  or  not.  WTien  you  have  decided  upon  that  point,  I  will 
give  you  my  advice  upon  the  means  of  executing  them." 

"  You  know,  then,"  said  he,  "  what  my  instructions  are." 

"Yes,  undoubtedly;  but  I  am  uncertain  how  far  you  in- 
tend to  follow  them." 

"  I  wish  the  Parlement  to  separate,"  said  he. 

"  I  am  convinced  you  do,"  replied  I ;  "  but  at  present  the 
question  is  not,  what  you  wish  the  Parlement  to  do,  but  what 
you  will  do  yourself.  You  have  the  means  in  your  power  of 
doing  what  you  please." 

"  But  what  do  you  think  ought  to  be  done  with  respect  to 
the  Parlement?"  resumed  he. 

"  I  think  there  is  nothing  to  be  done  at  present,"  answered 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  135 

I ;  "  because  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  object  of  their 
assembling  is  already  fulfilled;  and  if  I  were  in  your  place, 
I  would  send  orders  immediately  for  the  troops  to  withdraw." 

"  What,  even  before  the  Parlement  has  separated  ?  " 

"  Yes,  without  doubt ;  unless  you  have  ordered  the  troops 
to  attend,  merely  by  way  of  doing  honour  to  the  Parlement, 
in  a  state  of  disobedience  to  the  Eling's  orders." 

"■  I  ordered  the  troops  on  purpose  to  make  the  Assembly  sep- 
arate," answered  he. 

"  You  ought,  then,"  said  I,  "  to  have  ordered  them  to  force 
the  door,  when  it  was  refused  to  be  opened,  and  even  to  pull 
down  the  house,  if  necessary." 

"  Oh,  I  know  very  well  that  you  are  always  for  the  most 
violent  means,"  said  he. 

"No,"  replied  I,  "certainly  I  am  not;  for  I  think,  on  the 
contrary,  that  violent  measures  ought  never  to  be  had  resource 
to,  till  every  moderate  remedy  has  been  tried  in  vain;  but  I 
am  for  acting  consistently;  and  nothing  can  be  more  incon- 
sistent and  more  hurtful  than  to  exhibit  powerful  means,  and 
then  to  act  with  weakness." 

"  It  would  be  acting  in  a  very  weak  manner,"  replied  he, 
"  to  withdraw  the  troops  at  present ;  and  I  cannot  see  any  in- 
convenience in  their  remaining  for  some  time  longer." 

"  You  will  decide  as  you  please." 

We  were  engaged  in  this  conversation,  when  a  deputation 
from  the  Parlement  was  announced.  M.  de  Thiard  went  into 
his  drawing-room,  and  I  remained  in  his  chamber,  from  which 
I  heard  the  Attorney-General  complain  to  him,  in  a  very  out- 
rageous and  indecent  style,  of  an  insult  which  he  pretended  to 
have  received  from  the  officer  who  comjnanded  the  dragoons. 
This  officer,  in  conformity  with  the  orders  which  he  had  re- 
ceived to  admit  nobody,  had  for  some  moments  opposed  the 
entrance  of  the  deputies.     The  Attorney-General  was  deaf  to 


136  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

all  expostulation.  His  colleagues  in  vain  endeavoured  to  bring 
him  to  a  more  decent  behaviour :  he  imperiously  insisted  on  hav- 
ing justice  done  him  against  the  officer,  whom  M.  de  Thiard  had 
the  complaisance  to  order  under  arrest. 

The  object  of  this  deputation  was  to  demand  that  the  troops, 
which  were  stationed  at  the  gate  of  the  "Hotel  de  Cuille," 
should  be  recalled,  to  put  an  end  to  the  scandal  and  dis- 
order which  resulted  from  that  measure.  Before  he  gave  them 
any  answer,  M.  de  Thiard  thought  proper  to  come  and  consult 
me,  by  which,  without  intending  it,  he  did  me  a  very  ill  of- 
fice; for  it  confirmed  them  in  the  notion  that  I  was  the  in- 
stigator of  the  measure  I  complained  of.  I  told  M.  de  Thiard 
that  I  had  already  advised  him  to  do  what  was  now  demanded 
of  him,  and  that  I  had  not  altered  my  opinion.  He  then  con- 
sented to  the  recall  of  the  troops.  He  made  it  a  condition, 
that  the  Parlement  should  separate  as  soon  as  possible;  but 
the  deputies  not  being  authorized  to  stipulate  for  the  Assem- 
bly, could  only  promise  that  they  would  use  their  utmost  ef- 
forts to  prevail  upon  them  to  do  so. 

The  Assembly  continued  till  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon : 
at  the  same  hour  the  protest,  which  the  Parlement  had  taken 
against  the  edicts  lately  registered,  was  published,  and  dis- 
tributed all  over  the  town  with  great  profusion.  We  were  at 
the  same  time  informed,  that  there  had  been  warm  debates 
in  the  Assembly,  on  this  question,  Whether  there  were  not 
grounds  for  decreeing,  that  the  King's  Commissioners  should 
be  taken  into  custody?  and  it  was  carried  in  the  negative,  by 
a  very  small  majority. 

In  consequence  of  this  conduct,  the  Parlement  was  imme- 
diately sent  into  exile.  The  lettres  de  cachet  were  delivered, 
the  following  evening,  against  all  the  members,  except  M.  du 
Coudic,  who,  having  seen  the  preceding  day  that  to  elude  the 
execution  of  the  King's  orders,  all  that  was  necessary  was  to 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  137 

shut  himself  up  in  his  chamber,  and  keep  it  fast  locked,  had 
recourse  to  this  expedient,  and  with  nearly  equal  success,  with 
the  Parlement;  for  having  shut  himself  up,  and  refused  ad- 
mittance to  the  officer  who  came  with  the  lettre  de  cachet,  and 
threatened  to  shoot  any  pers6n  who  dared  to  force  open  his 
door,  M.  de  Thiard  thought  it  sufficient  to  place  two  sentinels 
in  his  antechamber,  who  passed  two  days  there;  which  did 
not  prevent  M.  du  Coudic  making  his  escape  out  of  the  win- 
dow, getting  clear  of  the  town,  and  traversing  the  Province, 
without  having  the  King's  order  notified  to  him. 

The  ineffectual  measure  of  exiling  the  Parlement  so  far 
from  restoring  tranquillity,  only  served  to  irritate  the  public 
more  and  more,  and  to  augment  the  fermentation.  The  meet- 
ings at  the  Eeading  Eooms  were  permanent.  The  most  vio- 
lent measures  were  the  constant  object  of  their  deliberations. 
It  was  decreed,  in  one  of  these  assemblies,  that  all  the  gentle- 
men of  Eennes  should  demand,  in  a  body,  satisfaction  of  M. 
d'Hervilly,  colonel  of  the  regiment  of  Eohan,  for  the  insult 
he  was  supposed  to  have  offered  to  the  nobility  in  the  person 
of  one  of  its  members,  against  whom  he  was  accused  of  hav- 
ing raised  his  cane.  The  fact  was,  that  during  the  blockade 
of  the  "  Hotel  de  CuilU"  M.  d'Hervilly,  who  was  there  with 
tlie  detachment  of  his  regiment,  was  brutally  assaulted  by 
some  gentlemen,  who,  after  having  torn  off  his  epaulets,  pushed 
him  rudely  against  the  wall;  at  that  moment  he  suddenly 
raised  his  arm  to  defend  his  head;  but  he  could  not  raise  his 
arm,  without  also  raising  the  cane  which  he  held  in  his  hand. 
It  was  this  involuntary  motion  which  was  misinterpreted  as 
an  insulting  gesture.  M.  d'Hervilly  gave  this  explanation  to 
a  numerous  deputation,  who  came  to  inform  him  of  the  in- 
tentions of  the  nobility.  As  his  explanation  did  not  satisfy 
them,  he  accepted,  with  gratitude,  the  honourable  challenge 
that  was  proposed  to  him;  but  he  told  these  gentlemen,  that 


138  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

he  must  limit  its  execution  to  three  duels  a  day,  upon  account 
of  the  time  he  was  obliged  to  bestow  on  the  King's  service. 
The  manner  in  which  the  first  duel  passed  very  happily  ter- 
minated this  quarrel.  M.  d'Hervilly  having  given  his  adver- 
sary his  life  three  times,  that  gentleman  rather  chose  to  em- 
brace him,  than  to  continue  the  combat;  and  the  two  others, 
who  were  to  have  fought  M.  d'Hervilly  on  the  same  day,  de- 
clared themselves  satisfied;  as  did  all  the  other  gentlemen  who 
were  to  have  fought  him  afterwards. 

This  affair  opened  M.  de  Thiard's  eyes  to  the  danger  of  these 
assemblies  which  were  held  in  the  town,  and  he  consulted  me 
upon  the  means  of  putting  a  stop  to  them.  My  opinion  was, 
that  at  the  point  to  which  things  had  arrived,  success  could 
only  be  expected  from  the  most  vigorous  measures;  and  that 
with  respect  to  these  assemblies,  I  saw  no  other  means  than 
to  publish,  and  rigorously  execute,  a  decree,  by  which  all  as- 
semblies whatever  were  interdicted,  under  pain  of  a  penalty 
of  3,000  livres,  of  confiscation,  and  the  demolition  of  the  house 
in  which  the  assemblies  should  be  held.  He  at  first  approved 
of  my  advice,  and  begged  of  me  to  draw  up  the  decree,  and 
make  it  be  printed  and  published.  This  was  done  in  the  course 
of  the  day;  but  the  next  morning  he  had  changed  his  mind, 
upon  hearing  of  M.  d'Hervilly 's  reconciliation  with  the  no- 
bility, because  he  looked  upon  the  measure  as  quite  unneces- 
sary; and  in  spite  of  my  earnest  expostulations,  he  never  could 
resolve  upon  publishing  this  decree,  the  execution  of  which 
might  probably  have  stopped  the  progress  of  the  revolt  and  the 
general  disorder. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Progress  of  the  insurrection. —  Insolence  of  a  barrister. —  Representa- 
tions  of   the   Standing   Commission   of   tlie   Estates   of    Brittany. 

—  Violent  conduct  of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens. —  Decrees  of  the 
Council. —  Tumults. —  Weakness  of  M.  de  Thiard. —  Designs 
formed  against  me. —  My  departure  for  Paris. —  Its  consequences. 

—  M.  de  Thiard's  recall. —  Replaced  by  M.  de  Stainville. —  Re- 
tirement of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens  and  of  M.  de  Lamoignon. — 
Recall  of  M.  Necker. —  M.  de  Barentin  appointed  chancellor. — 
M.  Necker  prepares  the  convocation  of  the  States-General. —  His 
motives. 

The  establishment  of  the  baillage  at  Eennes  was  become 
absolutely  impossible,  from  the  contempt  into  which  Eoyal  au- 
thority had  fallen,  from  the  protest  of  the  Parlement  against 
the  new  laws,  and  from  the  inelficacy  of  all  means  of  force  in 
the  hands  of  a  commandant  such  as  M.  de  Thiard.  My  cor- 
respondence with  the  Ministers,  and  principally  with  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Sens,  turned  upon  the  necessity  of  qualifying  his 
measures,  of  abandoning  his  miserable  new  system  of  Law 
Courts,  and,  above  all,  of  suspending  the  execution  of  the  new 
laws  in  Brittany,  until  such  time  as  they  should  receive  the 
approbation  of  the  States,  according  to  the  privileges  of  that 
province,  and  the  engagement  which  the  King  renewed  at 
every  sitting,  never  to  make  any  attempt  against  them.  The 
Archbishop's  answers  were  always  laconic,  and  to  a  ridiculous 
height  imperious;  as  for  instance,  "The  King  will  he  obeyed. 
—  The  King  Jcnows  how  to  make  himself  obeyed. —  You  will 
immediately  receive  such  orders  as  the  circumstances  require." 
But  a  disregard  of  subordination  and  the  spirit  of  revolt  were 
so  rapid,  and  these  orders  were  dispatched  so  slowly,  that  we 


140  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

always  received  them  about  a  fortnight  after  the  period  in 
which  they  might  have  been  of  service. 

The  enthusiasm  of  insurrection  had  so  heated  every  mind, 
and  the  disorder  and  weakness  of  government  were  so  appar- 
ent, that  those  who,  from  motives  of  interest  as  well  as  duty, 
ought  to  have  been  its  surest  support,  gloried  in  showing 
themselves  the  most  eager  in  attacking  it.  Thus,  while  the 
Standing  Commission  of  the  States  addressed  the  most  in- 
solent expostulations  to  the  King  against  the  new  edicts,  and 
while  the  legal  oflEicer  of  the  States  traveled  past  over  the 
municipalities  of  the  province,  to  force  them  to  take  a  protest 
against  his  Majesty's  orders,  under  pain  of  incurring  the  cen- 
sure of  the  States  and  the  Parlement,  the  King's  Attorney- 
General  threatened  to  prosecute  us  if  we  did  not  set  at  lib- 
erty a  seditious  fellow,  who  had  been  taken  up  before  the 
Hotel  de  Cuille.  This  fellow  was  at  the  head  of  a  mob,  excit- 
ing the  people  against  the  soldiers.  A  pistol  and  ammunition 
were  found  in  his  pockets.  The  Attorney-General  insisted, 
that  if  the  man  was  liable  to  be  tried,  it  belonged  to  him,  and 
not  to  us,  to  prosecute  him.  M.  de  Thiard  saw  no  impropri- 
ety in  delivering  up  the  fellow  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  At- 
torney-General, in  spite  of  my  remonstrances  against  such  a 
measure;  and  after  a  slight  examination,  this  vagabond  was 
set  at  liberty,  as  was  to  have  been  expected,  amidst  the  ac- 
clamations of  the  populace,  who  conducted  him  home  in  tri- 
umph. It  was  even  thought  necessary  to  give  him  a  few  lonis 
d'ors,  to  prevent  his  raising  a  process  against  us  for  damages, 
in  which  he  would  certainly  have  been  successful. 

The  Archbishop  of  Sens,  confident  in  the  resources  of  his 
own  genius,  and  persuaded  that  his  measures  would  be  crowned 
with  success,  regarded  the  opposition  in  Brittany  with  con- 
temptuous indifference ;  seeing  that  the  greatest  number  of  the 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  141 

baillages  ^  were  established,  and  in  activity,  he  thought  that  it 
would  be  in  his  power  to  restore  that  province  to  tranquillity 
when  he  pleased.  He  was,  however,  stung  to  the  quick  at  the 
disrespectful  style  in  which  he  and  his  measures  were  men- 
tioned in  the  representations  addressed  to  the  King  by  the 
Standing  Commission  of  the  States,  and  he  revenged  himself 
by  ordering  twelve  gentlemen  of  Brittany,  several  of  whom 
liad  taken  no  part  in  the  troubles  which  agitated  that  province, 
to  be  arrested,  and  conducted  to  the  Bastille.  He  sent  us,  at 
the  same  time,  a  decree  of  the  Council,  with  a  dull  and  tedious 
preamble,  the  object  of  which  was,  to  refute  the  principal  ob- 
jections that  were  raised  against  the  new  laws.  We  were  or- 
dered to  publish  and  circulate  it  in  all  the  principal  towns  of 
the  province,  without  delay ;  and  this  order  was  punctually  ex- 
ecuted. I  told  M.  de  Thiard,  that  I  should  cause  the  decree  to 
be  posted  up  next  morning,  but  that  we  must  expect  to  have 
it  immediately  torn  down,  unless  there  was  a  guard  stationed 
by  every  placard;  and  that  an  insurrection  might  very  pos- 
sibly be  the  consequence.  "We  shall  see,"  replied  he,  with 
great  composure,  and  accordingly  it  was  what  we  did  see. 
The  placards,  which  were  posted  up  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  were  all  taken  down  by  the  populace,  an  immense 
crowd  of  whom  had  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  making  a 
bonfire  with  them  in  the  court  of  my  residence;  but  thanks 
to  the  firmness  of  my  porter,  and  the  solidity  of  my  gate,  the 

1  The  Baillages  and  S^n^chausses  (the  two  terms  being  practically 
synonymous)  were  administrative  divisions  of  the  country.  Each 
also  possessed  Courts  of  Justice,  which  had  fallen  somewhat  into 
disquietude,  but  which  Cardinal  Lomtoie  de  Brienne  in  his  abortive 
scheme  of  substituting  the  "  Cour  Pleni&re  "  for  the  existing  Parle- 
ments  proposed  to  revive  with  increased  jurisdiction  and  powers. 
(See  Note  on  the   Cour  Plenifere,  Vol.   I.,  40.) 

The  Bailliages  and  S^nfichausses  formed  the  constituencies  or  elec- 
toral  districts   for   the  States-General    in    1788-89. 


142  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

bonfire  was  not  allowed  to  be  kindled  within  the  court,  but 
only  in  the  street  before  the  house;  and  I  sustained  no  other 
loss  than  having  a  few  of  my  windows  broken  by  the  stones 
thrown  by  the  mob.  I  immediately  dispatched  one  of  my 
clerks  to  M.  de  Thiard,  to  give  him  an  account  of  what  was 
passing;  and  about  two  hours  after,  when  the  mob  was  en- 
tirely dispersed,  he  sent  me  a  few  dragoons,  and  a  guard  of 
twenty  men,  whom  I  dismissed  immediately,  being  convinced 
that  my  showing  any  symptoms  of  fear,  or  that  I  thought 
myself  in  danger,  would  be  an  infallible  way  of  bringing  the 
danger  on.  The  people  were  accustomed  to  see  a  number  of 
troops  at  the  residence  of  the  Commandant,  but  never  at  that 
of  the  Intendant.  The  novelty  of  this  alone  would  have  at- 
tracted a  crowd ;  and  when  that  had  become  great,  a  few  sedi- 
tious fellows  might  have  excited  them  to  insurrection. 

The  fermentation,  occasioned  by  the  exile  of  the  magistrates, 
was  considerably  augmented  by  the  confinement  of  the  twelve 
gentlemen ;  and  the  intelligence  which  was  given  me  by  the  Sieur 
Tronjolly,  Public  Prosecutor  at  the  Police  Court,  prepared 
us  to  expect  a  very  serious  explosion.  The  project  of  retal- 
iating upon  us  for  those  acts  of  despotism  was  publicly  talked 
of;  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  trifling  insurrection,  oc- 
casioned by  the  posting  up  of  the  placards,  would  have  been 
more  serious,  had  it  been  less  sudden,  and  if  more  time  had 
been  given  for  the  instigators  to  make  preparations.  They 
expected  a  new  opportunity,  which  they  hoped  to  improve  to 
more  advantage;  because  the  seditious  gained  strength  daily 
by  the  accession  of  crowds  of  vagabonds,  who  having  suffered 
under,  or  fled  from,  the  lash  of  justice,  flocked  to  Eennes  from 
all  quarters,  some  having  been  invited  by  the  seditious,  others 
attracted  by  the  disorders  that  reigned  at  that  place. 

M.  de  Thiard,  who  had  received  information  of  all  that  was 
going  forward,  added  a  hundred  men  to  the  guard  of  his  re«i- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  143 

dence,  and  obliged  me  to  pass  a  night  there.  He  earnestly  in- 
treated  me  to  remain  with  him  till  the  end  of  our  mission. 
This  would  certainly  have  been  the  safest  plan;  but  the  idea 
of  taking  refuge,  and  concealing  myself,  was  so  repugnant  to 
my  character,  that  I  could  not  consent  to  it.  I  returned  to 
the  Intendant's  house  next  day,  to  which  M.  de  Thiard  sent  a 
guard  of  twenty  men.  I  wrote,  the  same  day,  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Sens,  and  to  the  Chancellor,  informing  them,  that 
in  the  present  situation  of  affairs,  the  execution  of  the  new 
laws  was  impracticable  in  Brittany;  that  our  presence  was 
ineffectual  for  the  end  proposed,  and  could  serve  no  purpose 
but  to  lower  the  King's  authority,  as  it  was  not  in  our  power 
to  punish  the  insults  daily  offered  to  us,  neither  could  I  se- 
cure myself  from  the  danger  which  menaced  me  in  particular ; 
therefore  I  requested  permission  to  return;  adding,  that  I 
would  wait  for  it,  unless  the  danger  became  very  urgent. 

Eight  days  had  elapsed  without  my  receiving  any  answer 
to  these  letters,  when  I  was  informed,  by  the  public  Prose- 
cutor of  the  police,  that  my  house  would  be  attacked  by  a  con- 
siderable mob,  made  up  of  the  greatest  vagabonds  in  Rennes; 
that  they  intended  to  enter  by  the  garden  wall,  which  was  low 
enough  for  that  purpose  on  the  side  next  the  street.  Their 
design  was  to  seize  upon  my  person.  My  informant  refused 
to  mention  the  treatment  which  was  intended  me;  he  only 
advised  me  not  to  remain  any  longer  in  my  house,  as  it 
was  impossible  to  know  how  soon  this  attack  would  be  made. 
On  the  same  day,  namely,  the  7  July,  I  received  the  same 
advice  from  one  Bouvard,  who  commanded  the  city  guard  at 
Rennes.  T  did  not,  however,  follow  it,  but  continued  in  the 
house;  T  only  had  tlie  precaution  to  quit  the  chamber  in  which 
I  usually  slept,  as  it  was  on  a  level  with  the  garden,  and  T 
went  to  a  small  apartment  on  the  second  floor,  where  they 
would  not  probably  have  thought  of  seeking  me,  and  from 


144  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OP 

which  I  could  more  easily  have  made  my  escape,  had  I  been 
reduced  to  that  extremity. 

I  was  not  long  in  knowing  that  the  intelligence  I  had  re- 
ceived was  but  too  well  founded.  On  the  8  July,  about 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  guard  stationed  in  my  garden 
perceived  two  men,  who  had  clambered  over  the  wall ;  but  these 
fellows,  observing  that  they  were  discovered,  had  time  to  make 
their  escape  before  the  guard  could  come  up  with  them;  and 
they  were  seen  running  along  the  street  with  eight  or  ten  of 
their  companions,  who  had  undoubtedly  come  to  reconnoitre 
the  ground.  This  attempt  determined  me  to  leave  Eennes 
next  day,  although  I  had  not  received  permission,  and  al- 
though M.  de  Thiard  offered  to  send  me  a  more  numerous 
guard.  I  answered  him,  that  in  order  to  re-establish  and 
maintain  the  King's  authority,  it  was  not  sufficient  that  we 
possessed  the  means  of  repelling  such  attacks  as  these,  but 
that  we  ought  also  to  have  the  power  and  the  firmness  to  pun- 
ish the  authors  with  exemplary  severity;  and  that  I  could  by 
no  means  consent  to  remain  exposed  to  the  danger  of  being 
attacked  in  my  house,  unless  he  would  give  positive  and  un- 
limited orders  to  the  troops  to  repel  force  by  force;  and  like- 
wise give  me  his  word  of  honour  that  he  would  deliver  up 
every  person,  seized  in  the  act  of  assault,  to  be  tried  and  exe- 
cuted if  condemned.  This  proposal  terrified  him  so  much, 
that  he  thought  it  better  for  me  to  set  off,  and  inform  the  Min- 
isters of  what  was  passing.  I  accordingly  left  Eennes  secretly 
on  the  9  July,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  accompa- 
nied by  eight  dragoons,  who  escorted  me  half  a  league  out  of 
town;  and  I  arrived  at  Versailles  on  the  11th,  at  five  in  the 
afternoon.  I  alighted  at  the  Archbishop  of  Sens'  house.  He 
was  surprised  to  see  me,  and  received  me  coldly  enough.  "  You 
were  in  a  great  hurry  to  come,"  said  he.  "  Did  not  you  re- 
ceive my  letter  ?  " 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  145 

"  No,  my  lord." 

"  If  you  had  waited  for  it,  you  would  then  have  known  that 
it  was  the  King's  intention  that  you  should  visit  the  principal 
towns  of  the  province,  in  order  to  judge  of  the  general  dis- 
position with  respect  to  the  new  laws,  and  to  give  us  an  ac- 
count of  it.  I  confess,"  continued  he,  "  that  after  the  idea 
which  M.  de  Montmorin  gave  me  of  your  character,  particu- 
larly of  your  firmness,  I  did  not  expect  such  a  falling  olf  on 
your  part.  None  of  your  colleagues  have  done  the  same  in 
any  part  of  the  Kingdom." 

"  None  of  them,"  I  replied,  "  have  found  things  in  the  same 
state  that  I  did.  I  shall  only  say,  my  lord,  that  I  never  was 
considered  as  faint-hearted;  and  you  will  find  that  I  have  not 
left  that  reputation  in  Brittany;  and  I  would  have  been  there 
still,  if  my  firmness  alone  could  have  answered  any  purpose. 
With  respect  to  the  journey  which  the  King  wished  me  to  take 
through  the  principal  towns  of  the  province,  that  is  quite  un- 
necessary to  the  end  of  knowing  the  people's  dispositions.  I 
am  perfectly  well  informed  on  that  subject,  by  constant  corre- 
spondence with  my  delegates ;  and  I  can  venture  to  assure  you, 
that  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  establishing  the  new  laws 
all  over  the  province,  after  they  are  received  at  Eennes,  but 
not  before." 

"  Yes,  but  at  Eennes,  things  go  on  very  ill ;  and  the  King 
is  greatly  dissatisfied." 

"  I  am  very  sorry  for  it,  but  it  is  no  fault  of  mine.  I  was 
very  exact  in  declaring  my  opinion  respecting  what  was  likely 
to  happen,  and  I  mentioned  what  measures  would  have  been 
most  expedient  during  the  existing  circumstances.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  what  I  proposed  would  then  have  been  effectual; 
but  now  it  would  be  too  late." 

"  You  surely  had  troops  in  abundance  ?  " 

"  A  great  deal  too  many.  I  never  complained  that  we  had 
Vol.  I— 10 


146  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

not  soldiers  enough;  decisive  orders  were  what  we  most  stood 
in  need  of." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  Did  not  the  King  give  a  free  hand  to 
M.  de  Thiard?" 

"  He  never  told  me  so.  The  instructions  which  I  saw  were 
not  to  that  effect." 

"  But  what  do  you  think  ought  to  be  done  at  present  ?  " 

"If  it  be  the  King's  intentions  to  have  the  new  laws  put 
in  execution,  M.  de  Thiard  shoidd  receive  positive  instructions 
to  that  purpose,  and  be  required,  at  the  same  time,  to  mention 
what  means  he  thinks  will  be  necessary  to  secure  success,  and 
furnish  what  he  requires.  But,  above  all,  his  instructions 
must  be  positive." 

To  this  the  Archbishop  answered,  "  It  is  not  possible  to  fore- 
see every  circumstance.  But,  in  short,  there  can  be  no  incon- 
venience in  allowing  a  few  days  to  pass,  till  we  see  what  effect 
your  departure  will  produce.  Go  now  to  the  Chancellor,  and 
return  and  see  me  as  soon  as  you  receive  news  from  Brittany." 

M.  de  Lamoignon  received  me  still  worse  than  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Sens.  He  severely  reproached  me  for  having  sent 
my  resignation,  and  for  having  left  Eennes  without  having 
obtained  the  King's  permission.  I  completely  satisfied  him 
with  regard  to  the  necessity  of  setting  out,  without  waiting  for 
leave;  and  with  regard  to  my  sending  in  my  resignation,  I 
reminded  him  of  what  had  passed  between  us  before  I  left 
Paris,  upon  the  impossibility  of  my  accepting  any  commission 
that  would  oblige  me  to  act  against  the  Parlement ;  and  it  was 
easy  for  me  to  prove  to  him,  that  my  conduct  was  the  neces- 
sary consequence  of  the  error  I  had  been  led  into  by  his  an- 
swer. I  complained,  in  my  turn,  not  of  the  reserve,  but  of 
the  dissimulation  with  which  I  had  been  treated.  "  It  ap- 
pears to  mo,"  said  I  to  him,  "  that  without  initiating  me  in  the 
secret  of  the  projected  measure,  T  might  at  least  liave  got  a 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  147 

general  hint  that  it  concerned  the  magistracy  and  the  admin- 
istration of  justice;  if  I  had,  I  should  then  have  endeavoured 
to  convince  the  Archbishop  of  the  danger  of  attempting  such 
a  measure  in  Brittany,  before  the  approaching  convocation  of 
the  States,  It  should  be  left  to  this  decision;  as  in  this  way 
alone  could  it  be  reconciled  to  the  privileges  of  that  province, 
all  of  which  the  King  had  engaged  to  maintain :  and  this  was 
likewise  the  only  way  to  secure  the  success  of  the  measure  it- 
self; whereas,  the  resistance  with  which  it  would  be  met  in 
Brittany,  would  give  the  example  of  opposition,  and  encour- 
age the  other  provinces  to  resist.  The  proper  plans  to  have 
adopted,"  I  added,  "had  been  traced  by  M.  de  Maupeou,  in 
a  much  more  important  and  diflBcult  enterprise.  If  they  had 
adopted  it,  the  result  would  have  been  the  same  in  Brittany, 
by  employing  M.  de  Eeverseau  to  transact  business  with  the 
Parlement,  instead  of  sending  him  to  the  Exchequer  Court 
at  Nantes,  where  I  could  have  more  properly  fulfilled  tlie  com- 
mission with  which  he  was  charged." 

"  All  this,"  replied  M.  de  Lamoignon,  "  is  like  mustard 
after  dinner ;  and  I  am  certain  that  the  King  will  be  very  much 
astonished  and  displeased,  when  he  knows  that  you  are  here." 

"  If  his  Majesty,"  said  I,  "  were  acquainted  with  my  char- 
acter, he  would  be,  on  the  contrary,  surprised  at  my  supporting, 
during  two  long  months,  the  contradictions  and  disgusts  which 
I  met  with.  I  am  good  for  nothing  in  such  a  conjuncture; 
and  I  would  give  in  my  resignation  a  thousand  times,  rather 
than  be  placed  in  the  same  circumstances  again." 

"  I  do  not  positively  say,"  replied  he,  "  that  the  King  is  de- 
termined upon  your  return  to  Brittany.  We  shall  see.  But 
you  have  brought  yourself  into  a  very  disagreeable  situation.'" 

"  I  could  not  avoid  it :  but  that  which  I  have  quitted  was  tlic 
worst  of  all  situations." 

"  You  are  extremely  obstinate." 


148  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

"  Perhaps  I  am,  sir ;  and  particularly  when  I  think  myself 
in  the  right,  and  have  nothing  to  reprcach  myself  with." 

He  then  desired  that  I  should  immediately  make  out  a  cir- 
cumstantial statement  of  the  affairs  in  Brittany,  which  he 
would  next  day  lay  before  the  council;  and  so  we  separated, 
mutually  dissatisfied  with  each  other.  I  drew  up  the  state- 
ment, as  he  desired,  and  gave  it  him  next  morning.  I  found 
him  rather  softened,  because  M.  de  Montmorin,  whom  I  had 
seen  in  the  interval,  had  spoken  to  him  in  my  favour,  and  had 
convinced  him  of  the  injustice  of  blaming  me  for  the  ill  success 
of  their  measures,  since  the  only  hieans  which  could  have  in- 
sured it  had  not  been  under  my  direction.  And  surely  it  was 
no  fault  of  mine  that  M.  de  Thiard  only  employed  the  troops 
in  the  defence  of  his  own  house,  and  appeared  to  confine  his 
whole  care  and  attention  to  the  single  object  of  securing  it  from 
being  taken  by  assault. 

By  the  first  messenger  from  Brittany  intelligence  was 
brought,  that  on  the  very  day  which  I  left  Eennes,  a  mob  had 
assembled,  and  erected  a  gibbet  before  the  house  in  which  I 
had  lodged;  that  upon  this  I  had  been  hanged  in  effigy;  and 
the  figure  representing  me  was  afterwards  burned  in  a  large 
bonfire  made  for  the  purpose.  This  same  figure  was  previously 
covered  with  inscriptions  of  the  most  insolent  and  seditious 
nature.  This  ceremony  had  continued  a  considerable  time, 
during  which  many  execrations  were  uttered  against  the  Minis- 
ter, as  well  as  against  M.  de  Thiard  and  myself,  and  no  inter- 
ruption was  attempted  by  the  troops  or  otherwise,  nor  was  any 
measure  adopted  for  arresting  the  actors  or  instigators,  though 
they  were  well  known. 

The  weakness  of  M.  de  Thiard  was  such  that  the  Archbishop 
of  Sens  at  last  became  sensible  that  there  was  an  absolute 
necessity  for  sending  a  man  more  capable  of  commanding  into 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  149 

Brittany.  The  Marechal  de  Stainville,  who  was  then  at  Stras- 
bourg, was  sent  for.  It  was  hardly  possible  to  make  a  better 
choice.  He  arrived  at  Eennes  with  the  same  orders  and  the 
same  powers  which  had  been  given  to  M.  de  Thiard,  whom  he 
went  to  replace.  He  had  only  passed  two  days  there,  when 
subordination  and  tranquillity  were  perfectly  re-established, 
without  a  shot  being  fired,  or  a  blow  struck;  because  it  was 
known  that  the  arms  were  charged,  and  that  the  troops  had 
received  orders,  not  only  to  repel  force  by  force,  but  to  fire 
upon  the  most  inconsiderable  mob  who  refused  to  disperse.  So 
true  it  is,  that  in  order  to  restrain  the  people,  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  appear  not  to  fear  them;  and  that  a  number  of 
troops  do  not  overawe  the  multitude  so  much  as  the  known 
firmness  of  him  who  commands  them. 

But  while  order  was  beginning  to  be  restored  in  Brittany, 
the  Archbishop  of  Sens  entirely  destroyed  the  King's  authority 
all  over  the  Kingdom ;  sometimes  from  his  neglecting  to  employ 
it  when  it  was  necessary;  and  at  other  times,  from  his  extrav- 
agant abuse  of  it.  At  length,  when  the  finances,  and  public 
credit,  and  every  resource  were  exhausted,  the  general  disorder 
of  the  Government  forced  him  to  abandon  the  ministry,  and 
shamefully  seek  that  asylum  in  a  foreign  country  which  the 
public  indignation  did  not  permit  him  to  find  in  his  own. 

The  public  mind  was  now  turned  to  M.  Neckcr,  as  the  only 
man  who  was  capable,  by  his  supposed  talents  and  virtues,  of 
repairing  the  bad  effects  of  the  vices  and  incapacity  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Sens.  Thus  the  King  was  reduced  and  com- 
pelled by  public  opinion,  by  the  imperious  cry  of  the  nation, 
to  recall  to  his  council  the  insolent  Minister  whom  he  had,  with 
so  much  satisfaction,  sent  away. 

To  abandon  the  measures  of  the  Archbishop  of  Sens,  and  to 
recall  the  Parlements  were  the  first  acts  of  M.  Necker's  ad- 


150  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

ministration.  The  retreat  of  M.  de  Lamoignon  soon  succeeded 
that  of  the  principal  minister;  and  M.  de  Barentin,^  then 
tirst  president  of  the  "  Cour  des  Aides  "  of  Paris,  was  named 
chancellor.  M.  Necker  proposed  this  gentleman,  in  the  hopes 
of  finding  in  him  that  blind  and  servile  docility  which  the 
Archbishop  of  Sens  had  found  in  M.  de  Lamoignon;  but  the 
conduct  of  M.  de  Barentin  proved  him  to  be  a  man  of  too 
much  worth,  and  too  much  attached  to  the  King,  ever  to  be 
swayed  by  M,  Necker,  to  neglect  his  duty  to  his  Majesty,  or 
to  forget  what  he  owed  to  his  own.  character. 

The  Archbishop  of  Sens  had  unfortunately  prevailed  upon 
the  King  to  come  under  the  most  solemn  engagement  to  con- 
vene the  States-General  in  1789;  and  to  complete  his  folly, 
he  issued  a  decree  of  the  Council,  authorizing,  and  even  in- 
viting, all  who  thought  themselves  capable  of  publishing,  for 
the  instruction  of  the  Government,  their  ideas  on  the  best  form 
of  convoking  the  States-General,  the  manner  in  which  the 
Assembly  should  be  composed,  and  the  objects  they  should  take 
into  consideration;  as  if  there  never  had  been  an  assembly  of 
the  States  in  France  before,  or  rather,  as  if  the  motive  of  their 
convocation  had  been  to  establish  an  entire  new  form  of  gov- 
ernment. And,  in  effect,  this  was  the  aim  of  the  greatest  part 
of  those  pamphlets  with  which  France  at  this  time  overflowed. 

It  might  have  easily  been  foreseen,  that  an  assembly  of  the 
States-General,  convened  in  that  state  of  enthusiasm  and  con- 
vulsion, so  far  from  producing  any  good  effect,  would  neces- 
sarily expose  the  Monarchy  and  the  King  to  the  most  imminent 

2  Charles  Louis  Franc.ois  de  Barentin  remained  in  office  as  Garde  dii 
Sccfiux,  from  the  lOth  September  1788,  to  the  3rd  August  1780,  when 
he  resigned  in  consequence  of  the  attack  of  Mirabeau,  who  accused 
him   of   influencing  the  King  against  the   National   Assembly. 

Tie  emigrated  shortly  afterwards;  returning  to  France  during  the 
Consulate  he  lived  privately  until  the  Restoration,  when  he  received 
the  title  of  Honorary  Chancellor  of  France.  He  died  at  the  age  of 
80,  in  May  1819. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  151 

danger.  It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  M.  Necker  did  not 
foresee  these  consequences,  without  supposing  him  uncommonly 
deficient  in  point  of  discernment:  and  if,  foreseeing  them,  he 
resolved  to  meet  them,  he  acted  with  the  presumption  of  a 
madman,  or  the  perfidy  of  a  traitor.  Had  his  intentions  been 
upright,  and  had  he  possessed  the  one-half  of  the  talents 
which  his  flatterers  imputed  to  him,  the  re-establishment  of  the 
finances  would,  as  he  said  himself,  have  been  a  mere  amuse- 
ment to  him,  without  the  assistance  of  the  States-General. 
The  enthusiastic  confidence  of  the  public,  in  his  talents  and 
probity,  gave  him  the  power  of  deferring  the  convocation  as 
long  as  he  pleased.  But  more  ambitious  of  power,  than  sensi- 
ble to  the  glory  of  ensuring  the  safety  of  the  State,  the  only 
advantage  which  he  endeavoured  to  derive  from  the  circum- 
stance was  to  fix  his  popularity  on  so  firm  a  basis,  as  would 
confirm  him  in  administration,  independent  of  the  intrigues 
of  the  Court,  and  even  in  spite  of  the  will  of  the  King.  His 
credulous  vanity  led  him  to  believe  that  he  should  become  the 
perpetual  Minister  of  the  nation,  by  the  great  addition  of 
character  he  would  acquire  in  the  display  of  his  talents  before 
the  States-General ;  and  this  chimera  made  him  hasten  the  con- 
vocation. 

In  this  manner  M.  Necker  became  one  of  the  first  springs 
of  that  Eevolution,  of  which  he  was  soon  to  be  the  shameful 
victim. 


PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

Remarkable  determination  of  the  municipality  of  Rennes. —  Repre- 
sentations upon  the  necessity  of  annulling  it. —  The  other  munici- 
palities of  the  province  imitate  that  of  Rennes. —  I  give  in  my 
resignation. —  Opening  of  the  States  of  Brittany. —  Insurrection 
against  the  nobility. —  Separation  of  the  States. —  Opening  of  the 
States  General. —  Proposal  of  the  Breton  Club  to  M.  Necker,  re- 
jected.—  Debates  upon  the  verification  of  rights. —  Motives  for 
dissolving  the  States  General. —  Plan  proposed  for  this  purpose 
approved  of,  but  not  followed. —  Declaration  of  the  23d  of  June. 

The  states  of  Brittany  were  to  be  assembled  at  the  end  of 
the  month  of  December,  1788;  and  from  the  dissensions  which 
still  continued  to  agitate  the  province,  it  was  easy  to  foresee 
that  this  assembly  would  be  turbulent,  unless  the  Government 
displayed  uncommon  energy,  and  sent  another  commandant 
than  M.  de  Thiard.  With  respect  to  myself,  I  was  determined 
against  going,  because  it  appeared  to  me  prejudicial  to  the 
King's  authority,  and  unbecoming  my  character,  to  return  to 
Rennes,  before  public  reparation  was  made  for  the  insults  I 
had  received  there;  and  also  because  M.  Necker  knew  that  on 
the  first  year  of  my  Intendantship  of  Brittany,  I  had  prompted 
the  Attorney-General  to  denounce  to  the  Parlement  his  book 
upon  finance.  I  could  not,  therefore,  expect  to  obtain  from 
him  that  unlimited  confidence,  without  which  an  Intendant 
cannot  do  much  good  in  liis  province,  however  high  his  abili- 
ties and  upright  his  intentions  may  be. 

In  liopcs  that  tlie  Government  would  come  to  a  definite  reso- 
lution relative  to  M.  de  Thiard  and  myself,  I  continued  to  fulfil 
the  duties  of  my  office  with  as  much  assiduity  as  if  I  had  no 
idea  of  quitting  it.     At  this  time  the  municipality  of  Pennes 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  153 

came  to  a  resolution,  by  which  its  deputies  to  the  States 
of  Brittany  were  interdicted  from  deliberating  upon  the  de- 
mands of  the  King,  or  on  any  affair  whatever,  until  the  third 
order  had  obtained  justice  from  the  two  other  orders,  upon 
the  affair  of  tlie  extraordinary  fouages,  which  had  been  brought 
on  the  tapis  at  the  preceding  meeting  of  the  States,  and  had 
occasioned  the  most  violent  debates. 

The  ordinary  fouages  were  amongst  the  most  ancient  taxes 
imposed  on  the  lands  of  peasants  in  Brittany,  at  a  certain 
rate  for  each  fire-place  existing  when  this  imposition  was 
fixed;  but  all  additional  fire-places,  established  posterior  to 
the  first  imposition,  were  to  be  free  from  this  tax.  The  ex- 
traordinary fouages  were  different,  being  originally  a  loan 
exacted  from  those  very  peasants  by  the  States  of  the  province, 
for  the  general  expenses  of  the  province,  on  the  express  con- 
dition that  the  sum  advanced  was  to  be  repaid,  with  the  inter- 
est, at  the  end  of  the  year.  But  this  condition,  instead  of 
being  adhered  to,  was  quite  neglected;  and  the  same  loan  was 
renewed  and  exacted,  by  the  authority  of  the  States,  at  every 
following  sitting,  and  in  time  became  a  permanent  tax,  under 
the  name  of  fouages  extraordinaires,  without  any  formal  law. 

But  in  proportion  as  the  reclamation  of  the  third  order  was 
just,  the  municipality  of  Eennes  was  inexcusable,  in  support- 
ing it  by  means  so  irregular  and  so  imperious;  for  the  deter- 
mination which  had  been  issued  could  have  no  other  effect 
than  that  of  irritating  the  nobility,  and  raising  the  people  to 
insurrection  against  them.  The  day  on  which  I  received  this 
determination  from  Eennes,  I  showed  M.  Neckcr  the  plan  of 
a  decree  of  the  Council,  by  which  the  determination  of  the 
municipality  should  be  annulled,  and  all  the  other  municipal- 
ities of  tlie  Kingdom  should  he  interdicted  from  making  such 
decrees,  under  pain  of  being  tlissolved.  I  insisted,  in  the  most 
earnest  manner,   upon   the   necessity  of  sending  this   decree 


154  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

immediately  to  Eennes  by  a  courier  extraordinary,  as  a  means 
to  prevent  the  approaching  opening  of  the  States  from  be- 
coming the  commencement  of  a  civil  war.  M.  Necker  an- 
swered, with  the  greatest  coolness,  that  he  could  not  take  upon 
him  to  adopt  a  measure  of  such  importance,  without  the 
approbation  of  the  King  and  the  Ministers ;  and  that  he  would 
speak  of  it  at  the  Committee  which  was  to  be  held  that  even- 
ing. I  returned  to  his  house  next  day,  and  found  that  he 
had  set  out  for  Paris,  without  having  given  any  orders  in  his 
office  relative  to  the  proposed  decree  of  the  Council.  He  was 
to  return  to  Versailles  to  dinner,  and  I  waited  for  him,  in 
vain,  till  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening.  I  engaged  M.  de 
Thiard,  who  was  of  the  Assembly  of  N'otables,  to  watch  tlio 
moment  of  M.  Necker's  return,  and  to  Join  his  entreaties  to 
mine.  I  put  into  his  hands  a  memorial  upon  this  affair,  and 
a  letter  for  M.  Xecker,  whom  I  went  to  Paris  in  search  of.  I 
found  him  setting  out  for  Versailles,  and  I  followed  him  back, 
but  without  being  able  to  see  him  on  my  arrival  at  Versailles. 
Five  days  elapsed,  and  neither  M.  de  Thiard  nor  I  could  ob- 
tain a  definite  answer.  I  then  wrote  to  him,  that  the  de- 
cree of  the  Council,  which  I  had  proposed,  would  now  be  in- 
effectual, as  time  had  been  given  for  the  municipalities  of  the 
province  to  issue  determinations  of  the  same  kind  with  that 
of  the  municipality  of  Eennes,  which  I  did  not  doubt  of  their 
having  done;  and  therefore  the  proper  measure  now  would  be 
to  make  a  new  decree  of  the  Council,  for  annulling,  not  only 
the  determination  of  the  municipality  of  Eennes,  but  the 
determinations  of  all  the  municipalities  of  Brittany  that  had 
the  same  tendency.  M.  N'ecker  did  not  answer  this  letter ; 
and  I  learnt  at  his  office,  that  my  fears  appeared  to  him 
groundless,  and  the  measures  I  proposed  much  too  violent. 

Some  time  after,  the  report  of  my  intention  to  resign  be- 
ing spread  in  the  province,  several  municipalities  sent  depu- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  155 

ties  to  Paris,  who  were  commissioned  to  do  every  thing  in 
their  power  to  dissuade  me  from  that  step,  and  to  use  their 
influence  with  the  Ministers  not  to  accept  my  resignation, 
if  I  should  give  it  in.  This  deputation,  which,  in  other  cir- 
cumstances, would  have  been  extremely  flattering  to  me,  now 
rendered  my  resignation  indispensable;  because  it  was  known 
that  the  representations  made  to  the  King,  on  the  injustice 
of  the  fouages  extraordinaires  went  originally  from  me,  and 
I  was  considered  as  the  chief  promoter  of  the  opposition  made 
by  the  Tiers  to  that  tax.  Of  course  it  might  have  supposed, 
when  I  set  off  for  Brittany,  that  I  intended  to  put  myself  at 
the  head  of  the  Third  Order,  in  opposition  to  that  of  the  nobil- 
ity: and  as  such  conduct  would  not  have  been  in  any  respect 
suitable  for  me,  I  did  not  choose  to  be  suspected  of  it;  there- 
fore I  gave  in  my  resignation  the  6  December  1788,  and 
M.  du  Faure  de  Eochefort  was  named  in  my  place. 

The  States  of  Brittany  were  now  to  be  opened.  All  the 
municipalities  of  the  province  had  given  their  deputies  a  posi- 
tive order  to  take  no  part  in  any  deliberation,  until  the  affair 
of  the  extraordinary  fouages  was  terminated;  and  they  were 
also  commissioned  to  exact,  as  a  preliminary  condition  to  every 
arrangement,  the  total  restitution,  capital  and  interest,  of  the 
amount  of  all  the  contributions  paid  since  the  year  16-il, 
under  the  title  of  fouages  extraordinaires,  which  would  have 
amounted  to  at  least  forty  millions  of  livres  (francs)  to  be  re- 
stored to  contributors.  In  a  court  of  equity,  this  could  not 
have  occasioned  any  hesitation.  The  Council  appeared  to  give  a 
tacit  approbation  to  these  determinations  and  mandates,  by 
refusing  to  pronounce  their  repeal.  The  Third  Order,  there- 
fore, naturally  imagining  that  the  Court  would  support  their 
])retcnsions,  prepared  to  insist  upon  them  with  renewed  firm- 
ness. The  imprudent  conduct  of  the  nobility,  in  these  critical 
circumstances,  completed  the  general  disgust.     The  Count  de 


156  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

Boisgelin,  who  was  to  preside,  arrived  at  Rennes  two  days 
before  the  opening  of  the  States.  He  assembled,  at  his  house, 
all  the  nobility  who  came  to  Eennes  upon  the  occasion,  and 
made  this  irregular  assembly  adopt  the  resolution  of  paying 
no  attention  to  the  particular  demands  of  the  Third  Order, 
until  the  general  affairs  of  the  province  were  terminated. 

The  discontent  which  this  decision  excited  was  a  prelude 
to  the  tragical  catastrophe  which  was  to  signalise  the  opening 
of  the  States.  From  the  second  sitting,  the  most  violent  ani- 
mosity appeared  betwixt  the  order  of  the  nobility  and  the 
Third  Order.  Tumult  and  insurrection  were  the  conse- 
quences. It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  M.  de  Thiard,  who 
could  not  repress  sedition  when  he  commanded  an  army  of 
more  than  three  thousand  men,  would  be  able  to  maintain 
order  and  obedience  when  he  had  only  twenty  or  thirty  police 
at  his  command.  He  could  not  even  prevent  the  nobility 
from  being  besieged  by  the  populace,  for  three  days  and  two 
nights,  in  the  hall  of  the  States.  At  length,  quite  exhausted 
with  hunger  and  fatigue,  they  came  out  on  the  third  day,  with 
their  swords  drawn,  to  force  their  way  through  the  mob. 
Upon  this  occasion,  a  gentleman  was  killed  by  the  firing  of  a 
pistol,  and  another  was  dangerously  wounded. 

It  was  known,  two  days  after,  that  four  hundred  young  men 
had  come  armed,  from  Xantes,  to  the  assistance  of  the  citizens 
of  Eennes.  M.  de  Thiard  sent  the  captain  of  his  guard  to 
meet  them,  in  order  to  assure  them  that  tranquillity  was  re- 
established; and  as  their  presence  could  only  breed  tumult, 
he  ordered  them,  in  the  King's  name,  to  return  to  Nantes. 
But  this  did  not  prevent  them  from  continuing  their  journey ; 
and  they  arrived  tliat  very  day  at  Eennes,  where  they  were 
well  received.  In  this  state  of  affairs,  it  was  impossible  to 
continue  the  Assembly :  ahnost  all  the  nobility  had  left  Eennes, 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  157 

and  M.  de  Thiard  received  orders  to  put  an  end  to  the  meet- 
ing of  the  States. 

I  was  then  at  Paris,  far  from  these  storms,  which  1  had 
but  too  well  foreseen;  and  I  had  many  apprehensions,  on  ac- 
count of  the  danger  which  threatened  the  kingdom  at  the 
approaching  meeting  of  the  States-General,  especially  as  they 
were  to  be  constituted  according  to  the  new  form,  which  M. 
Necker  had  persuaded  the  King  to  adopt.  I  was  so  much 
convinced  that  nothing  but  evil  could  be  the  result,  that,  to 
avoid  the  odium  of  having  had  any  share  in  it,  I  absented 
myself  from  the  Electoral  Assembly  of  my  Section  at  Paris. 

I  had  bestowed  great  pains  in  studying  all  that  concerns 
the  States-General,  in  the  most  autlientic  monuments  of  our 
history,  and  had  made  a  collection  of  notes  and  remarks  upon 
that  important  point  of  our  constitution.  I  gave  an  extract 
of  these  to  M.  Necker;  but  as  he  did  not  find  among  them 
what  he  wanted,  namely,  some  authority  or  precedent  for 
doubling  the  number  of  the  deputies  of  the  Third  Estate  in 
the  assembly  of  the  States,  he  made  no  use  of  the  materials 
with  which  I  furnished  him. 

Some  days  after  the  opening  of  the  States-General,  the 
desire  I  had  to  know  the  particulars  of  what  was  passing  car- 
ried me  to  Versailles.  I  was  accosted,  in  the  street,  by  three 
deputies  of  the  Third  Estate  of  Brittany.  They  expressed 
much  regret  that  they  had  not  been  able  to  find  me  sooner, 
and  requested  a  rendezvous,  to  confer  with  me  upon  very 
important  matters.  It  was  then  about  seven  o'clock  at  night, 
and  I  proposed  to  accompany  them  to  their  lodgings.  They 
agreed  to  this  proposal  so  much  the  more  willingly,  as  they 
expected,  that  evening,  some  of  their  colleagues,  members  of 
the  Breton  Club,  from  which  was  formed,  in  a  short  time,  tlie 
celebrated  Jacobin  Club.     I  accordingly  went  with  them   to 


158  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

their  inn,  where  our  company  was  soon  increased  by  the  addi- 
tion of  seven  or  eight  persons,  amongst  whom  were  four  depu- 
ties whom  I  had  known  in  Brittany. 

After  I  had  been  introduced  to  those  who  were  strangers 
to  me,  Champeaux  Paslane,  deputy  from  St.  Brieux,  told  me, 
that  since  their  arrival,  he  and  his  colleagues  had  been  ex- 
tremely solicitous  to  see  me,  in  order  to  take  my  opinion 
upon  the  conduct  which  they  ought  to  maintain.  "  ^\'e  are 
here,"  said  he,  "  as  if  we  had  fallen  from  the  clouds,  in  an 
unknown  country,  where  an  order  of  things  exists,  of  which 
we  had  no  idea.  We  are  unacquainted  with  the  Court  and 
the  Ministers,  we  know  not  what  they  desire  of  us,  and  we 
hope  that  you  will  direct  us.  You  know  our  reliance  upon 
you,  and  you  may  believe  that  we  shall  pay  the  same  regard 
to  3'our  advice  here  that  we  had  in  Brittany."  They  all 
united  in  the  same  request,  accompanied  with  the  same  as- 
surances. I  inquired  what  were  their  sentiments,  and  in  what 
way  they  expected  me  to  direct  them.  They  assured  me,  that 
their  intention  was  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  establish  the 
King's  authority  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  nobility  and 
Parlement  might  never  have  the  power  of  injuring  it.  I 
greatly  approved  of  these  sentiments;  but  I  observed,  that  as 
I  was  not  in  the  ministry,  I  could  not  take  upon  me  to  direct 
them;  that  it  Avas  M.  Necker  to  whom  they  ouglit  to  address 
themselves;  and  that  I  would  speak  to  him,  if  they  authorized 
me.  They  answered,  that  they  were  not  fond  of  going  to 
M.  Xecker,  because  there  was  always  a  crowd  at  his  house; 
and  that  if  they  were  often  seen  with  him,  they  would  be  sus- 
pected of  being  sold  to  the  Court :  but  that  if  I  would  be  their 
interpreter  with  M.  Necker,  and  transmit  them  his  instruc- 
tions, they  would  always  strictly  conform  to  tlicni.  1  prom- 
ised to  wait  upon  M.  Xecker  next  day,  and  to  bring  to  llieni  liis 
answer.     They   then   consulted  me  upon  the  choice  of  their 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  159 

President ;  and  they  knew  so  little  of  the  Court,  that  they  had 
determined  to  choose  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  from  the  idea  that 
they  could  not  make  a  choice  more  agreeable  to  the  King.  I 
convinced  them  of  tlieir  error;  and  M.  Bailly  was  named 
President. 

I  went  next  day  to  inform  M.  Necker  of  the  disposition  of 
these  deputies;  but  not  being  able  to  see  him,  I  desired  M. 
Coster,  his  first  secretary,  to  acquaint  him  with  my  business. 
When  I  went,  next  day,  to  receive  M.  Xecker's  answer,  M. 
Coster  told  me  that  the  Minister  declined  all  private  com- 
munication with  those  deputies,  as  repugnant  to  the  purity 
of  his  principles,  since  it  might  be  considered  as  tampering 
with  them,  or  a  species  of  corruption.  Some  days  after,  M. 
Xecker  renewed'  an  offer,  which  had  been  formerly  made  to 
me  by  Messrs.  Barentin  and  de  Montmorin,  and  which  I  had 
refused,  of  the  place  of  first  President  of  the  Grand  Conseil 
at  Paris,  as  an  indemnification  for  the  loss  of  the  intendance 
of  Brittany.  He  added,  that  the  King  had  commissioned 
liim  to  renew  this  proposal,  and  was  so  desirous  that  I  should 
accept  of  it,  that  he  left  it  in  my  power  to  propose  my  own 
conditions  with  regard  to  the  appointment.  I  persisted  in 
my  refusal,  upon  account  of  the  uncertainty  of  every  place 
annexed  to  administration,  till  after  the  close  of  the  States- 
General.  Irritated  by  this  answer,  M.  Necker  said  to  me,  with 
great  haughtiness  and  severity  of  manner,  "  You  seem,  sir, 
not  to  be  very  desirous  to  please  the  King,  or  to  serve  him." 

"  The  King,  sir,"  answered  I,  smiling,  "  docs  not  think  of 
me,  and  does  not  know  in  what  I  can  be  most  useful  to  him." 

"  I  have  delivered  to  you,  sir,"  rejoined  M.  Necker,  with  an 
air  of  authority,  "what  bis  Majesty  gave  me  in  charge;  you 
may  perhaps  receive,  liereafter,  his  express  orders  to  the  same 
purpose." 


160  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

"  How,  sir  ?  Express  orders  to  accept  the  place  of  first 
president  of  the  '  grand  conseil '  f  " 

"Why  not?" 

"  Because  I  never  heard  before  of  a  man's  being  commanded 
to  accept  a  situation  that  he  did  not  like  as  an  indemnifica- 
tion or  reward;  and  I  am  convinced  that  the  King  is  the 
last  person  on  earth  to  impose  such  a  hardship.  Neverthe- 
less, if  I  should  receive  such  an  order,  I  will  find  means  to 
transmit  to  his  Majesty  my  motives  for  refusal." 

I  now  perceived  that  he  was  a  good  deal  disturbed,  there- 
fore took  my  leave,  and  I  never  saw  the  great  M.  Necker  again. 

The  manner  in  which  the  States-General  were  constituted, 
and  the  spirit  of  disorder  which  was  manifest  a  few  days 
after  the  opening,  but  too  plainly  showed  what  was  to  be 
expected  from  an  Assembly,  if  it  was  not  firmly  maintained 
within  proper  limits;  or  rather,  if  advantage  was  not  taken 
of  the  first  favourable  opportunity  to  dissolve  it.  This  last 
measure  was  the  surest,  and  also  the  easiest,  as  it  only  exacted 
a  moment's  firmness.  I  proposed  it,  in  a  memorial  which  I 
transmitted  to  M.  de  Montmorin,  at  a  time  when  it  could 
have  been  executed,  not  only  without  exciting  commotion,  but 
to  the  great  satisfaction  of  all  the  Kingdom;  and  this  was  at 
the  time  when  there  was  a  general  outcry  against  the  Assem- 
bly, upon  account  of  the  length  and  the  indecency  of  the 
debates  which  had  arisen,  relative  to  the  form  of  the  verifica- 
tion of  their  election.  This  question  had  consumed  the  whole 
time  of  the  sittings,  for  almost  six  weeks,  and  only  served 
to  irritate  the  Tiers  tltai  (third  order)  against  the  two  other 
orders.  These  debates  might  have  been  prevented,  had  M. 
Xccker  better  understood  our  constitutional  laws,  or  had  he 
been  even  directed  })y  common  sense.  It  certainly  belonged 
to  tlie   King,  wlio  convened  the  Assembly  of  the  nation,  to 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  161 

verify  whether  the  letters  of  credit  or  mandates,  of  those  who 
claimed  the  title  of  deputies,  were  or  were  not  regular.  But 
the  measure  of  leaving  this  important  point  to  the  decision 
of  the  Assembly,  having  been  already  adopted,  it  would  have 
been  fortunate  if  the  Ministry  had  known,  or  rather  had  they 
been  willing  to  take  advantage  of  the  conduct  of  the  Assem- 
bly, in  consequence  of  its  being  left  to  themselves.  The 
means  of  doing  this  I  laid  open,  in  the  memorial  which  I  gave 
to  M.  Montmorin,  the  substance  of  which  follows : 

"  If  it  is  wished  to  save  the  Monarchy,  and  to  prevent  the 
total  destruction  of  the  government,  not  a  moment  must  be 
lost.  It  is  not  yet  too  late,  and  the  means  are  in  our  Con- 
stitution; for  it  will  be  there  found,  first,  that  the  business 
and  powers  of  the  States-General  have  always  been  limited 
to  two  points:  the  one,  to  unite  all  the  instructions,  demands, 
and  grievances,  of  the  particular  constituencies,  into  one 
great  address,  and  to  present  it  to  the  King,  who,  with  the 
assistance  of  his  Council,  decides  upon  it  as  he  thinks  proper ; 
the  other  is  by  a  general  assembly  of  the  whole,  or  by  each 
order  assembling  separately,  to  vote  or  give  their  consent  to 
such  contributions  as  are  necessary  for  the  State. 

"  Secondly,  The  King  retains  the  power  of  dissolving  the 
States-General,  whenever  he  thinks  proper. 

"  The  King  and  present  Assembly  find  themselves  in  a 
position,  for  which  there  is  no  precedent  in  our  history;  for 
the  instructions  of  all  the  constituencies  are  printed,  so  that 
the  King  may  himself  pick  out  the  complaints  and  demands 
from  the  majority  of  the  instructions,  and,  after  mature  exam- 
ination in  his  Council,  decide  upon  them,  without  waiting 
till  the  great  address  is  presented  by  the  States-General,  who 
would  have  had  full  time  to  draw  it  up,  if  they  had  not  em- 
ployed themselves  for  a  month  in  frivolous  and  obstinate  de- 

VOL.    I— 11 


162  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

bates  upon  mere  matters  of  form^  of  which  no  one  can  see  the 
end,  and  which  delay  the  advantages  that  the  nation  expects 
to  reap  from  the  assembling  of  the  States-General. 

"  The  eagerness  for  realizing  these  expected  advantages  is 
more  than  a  sufficient  motive  to  determine  the  King  to  carry 
to  the  Assembly,  as  soon  as  possible,  first.  An  edict  or  declara- 
tion, by  which  his  Majesty  shall  pronounce  his  opinion  upon 
all  the  demands  which  are  contained  in  the  majority  of  the 
instructions,  and  grant  such  of  them  as  are  proper. 

"  Secondly,  An  exact  statement  of  the  national  debt,  with 
a  detailed  account  of  the  usual  expenses  of  the  Gov- 
ernment; not  comprising  the  household  of  the  King, 
Queen,  and  Princes,  which  his  Majesty  ought  to  announce 
he  will  provide  for  by  the  revenue  of  the  domains  of  the 
Crown,  in  which  are  included  the  produce  of  the  posts,  which 
are  farmed.  This  measure,  which  at  any  time  would  be  use- 
ful, will  be  particularly  so  at  the  present  moment,  as  it  will 
withdraw  the  King's  expenses  from  tlie  examination  and  cen- 
sure of  the  States-General,  and  leave  them  no  pretext  for 
not  voting,  immediately,  contributions  proportionable  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  State. 

"  Thirdly,  A  plan  of  finance,  containing  several  modes  of 
taxation,  with  an  estimate  of  what  each  is  likely  to  produce, 
to  enable  the  Assembly  to  appreciate  and  adopt  those  which 
they  imagine  will  be  least  burdensome. 

"  Fourthly,  An  account  of  the  pensions,  salaries,  and  per- 
quisites, marking  the  reduction  of  which  they  are  susceptible. 

"  After  having  read  all  these  papers,  the  King  may  ter- 
minate the  session  by  the  following  speech : 

" '  That  which  i  have  now  done  for  the  relief  of  my  people, 
and  for  the  improvement  of  the  government  of  my  Kingdom, 
fulfils,  as  much  as  the  circumstances  will  admit  of,  the  wislies 
and   demands   which   you   are   instructed   to   express   to   me. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  163 

There  remains,  then,  nothing  more  for  you  to  do  than  to 
accomplish  the  last  part  of  your  instructions,  by  voting  the 
taxes;  the  necessity  of  which  will  be  proved  to  you  by  the 
papers  which  have  now  been  read. 

" '  This  demand,  Avhich  all  your  instructions  authorize  me 
to  regard  as  already  consented  to  by  your  constituents,  ought 
to  be  the  immediate  and  only  object  of  your  next  meeting, 
which  ought  to  be  the  last.  I  hope  you  will  show  yourselvesi 
worthy  representatives  of  the  French  nation,  by  imitating, 
upon  this  occasion,  the  example  of  promptitude,  which  all  the 
assemblies  of  the  States-General,  which  have  preceded  you, 
have  always  shown.  And  I  charge  the  presidents  of  the  or- 
ders to  announce  to  me,  to-morrow,  the  result  of  the  deliber- 
ation which  you  are  to  enter  into;  and  I  will  inform  you,  the 
day  after,  of  the  definitive  measures  which  the  welfare  of  the 
State  makes  it  my  duty  to  adopt.' 

"  The  King,  upon  the  following  day,  may  dissolve  the  States- 
General,  whether  they  grant  or  refuse  the  taxes.  In  the  first 
case,  it  is  done  of  course.  In  the  second  case,  the  King  must 
declare,  that  the  fermentation  and  party  spirit,  which  have 
never  ceased  to  agitate  the  minds  of  the  Assembly,  from  the 
moment  of  their  meeting,  had  prevented  those  benefits  being 
derived  which  he  and  the  nation  had  a  rigl^t  to  expect;  and 
that  his  Majesty  had  resolved  to  dissolve  this  Assembly,  and 
either  to  convoke  another,  or  to  consult  the  assemblies  of  the 
constituencies  upon  the  mode  of  taxation ;  and  that  until  their 
inclinations  upon  this  important  subject  are  known,  the  ex- 
isting taxes  shall  continue." 

M.  de  Montmorin  approved  of  this  plan,  and  told  me  that  he 
would  speak  of  it  to  M.  Xecker,  in  the  course  of  the  day.  To 
this  I  answered,  that  ho  might  as  well  throw  my  memorial 
into  the  fire,  as  I  was  very  certain  that  M.  IS^ecker  would 
never  adopt  it.     I  expressed  a  desire,  therefore,  that  he  would 


164  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

rather  transmit  it  to  the  King,  or  cause  it  to  be  read  in  Council. 

"  This  could  answer  no  purpose/'  said  he ;  "  for  as  soon  as 
I  should  begin  to  read  your  memorial  in  the  Council,  M. 
Necker  would  stop  me,  and  desire  to  have  it  communicated 
to  himself  before  it  was  read,  on  which  the  King  would  or- 
der it  to  be  delivered  to  him.  But  leave  this  to  me,  and  I 
will  speak  to  him  in  such  a  manner  as  will  induce  him  to 
take  your  plan  into  consideration;  and  I  shall  take  the  same 
opportunity  of  prevailing  upon  him  finally  to  fix  your  pro- 
visional appointments." 

I  was  convinced  that  he  would  neither  succeed  in  the  one 
nor  the  other,  and  I  continued  to  urge  him  to  transmit  my 
memorial  to  the  King;  but  he  persisted  in  asserting  that  this 
could  have  no  effect,  for  the  reasons  he  had  already  given. 

I  was  surprised,  on  receiving  a  letter,  next  day,  from  M. 
Necker,  informing  me  that  the  King  had  granted  me  a  pen- 
tion  of  12,000  livres  a  year,  to  begin  from  the  day  I  resigned, 
and  to  be  continued  until  I  was  named  to  another  situation. 
I  at  first  imagined  that  this  favour,  so  soon  granted,  and 
at  the  very  moment  in  which  my  memorial  was  transmitted 
to  M.  Xecker,  was  partly  bestowed  as  a  recompense;  and  I 
concluded  that  the  plan  I  had  proposed  was  adopted.  I  im- 
mediately went  tq  M.  de  Montmorin,  to  know  whether  it  was 
so.  He  told  me  that  M.  Necker  had  road  my  memorial  with 
attention;  that  he  was  pleased  with  it,  and  approved  of  the 
principal  ideas;  but  that  he  thought  this  was  not  the  pre- 
cise moment  for  putting  it  in  execution. 

Eight  days  elapsed,  without  the  Court's  having  taken  any  de- 
cided part.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Third  Order,  hav- 
ing assembled  in  the  tennis-court,  declared  themselves  to  be 
the  National  Assembly. 

Upon  this  occasion,  I  wrote  again  to  M.  de  Montmorin, 
showing  of  what  importance  it  was  to  take  advantage  of  this 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  165 

new  attempt  against  the  Constitution,  and  to  employ  it  as  a 
motive  for  dissolving  the  States.  "  Make  yourself  easy,"  said 
M.  de  Montmorin  to  me ;  "  M.  Necker  does  not  sleep,  as 
you  will  be  convinced;  and  in  a  few  days  you  will  be  satisfied. 
I  cannot  tell  you  more." 

This  mystery  referred  to  the  famous  "  seance "  of  the  23d 
of  June,  which  was  more  fatal  than  useful  in  its  consequences, 
by  the  insolent  and  perfidious  absence  of  M.  Necker. 


PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 


CHAPTER  VII. 


M.  NECKER. 


Agioteur  adroit,  ministre  sans  nioyen 

De  rien  il  fit  de  I'or,  et  d'un  empire  rien. 

Ct.  de  V . 

Ix  order  to  give  a  just  idea  of  this  man,  as  famous  for 
the  evil  he  has  done  to  France,  as  remarkable  on  account  of 
the  kind  of  idolatry  of  which  he  was  the  object,  I  have 
thought  proper  to  bring  together,  in  one  chapter,  the  principal 
facts  which  relate  to  him,  separated  from  the  historical  details 
in  which  he  has  no  concern. 

M.  Xecker,  from  a  common  clerk  to  a  banker  at  Geneva, 
at  a  salary  of  600  livres  a-year,  having  become,  in  a  short  time, 
a  man  of  large  fortune,  a  man  of  letters,  and  Minister  of 
Finance,  is  certainly  no  inconsiderable  personage.  Considered 
in  the  two  first  characters,  he  might  only  have  interested  bank- 
ers and  literary  men;  but  considered  as  a  statesman,  he  is  con- 
nected with  events  of  too  much  importance  for  any  of  the 
particulars  of  his  administration  to  be  foreign  to  the  history 
of  our  disasters. 

M.  Thelusson,  a  banker  at  Paris,  having  requested  his 
correspondent  at  Geneva  to  find  out  for  him  an  intelligent 
clerk,  to  keep  his  cash-books,  that  correspondent,  who  was  the 
banker  with  whom  young  Xecker  was  then  serving  his  appren- 
ticeship, sent  him  to  Paris,  where  M.  Thelusson  appointed 
him  his  deputy  cashier,  with  a  salary  of  1,200  livres  a-year. 
He  soon  afterguards  became  principal  cashier,  and  gained  the 
entire    confidence    of    M.    Thelusson,   who,    in   gratitude   for 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  167 

some  advantageous  operations  in  exchange,  which  he  had  sug- 
gested, consented  to  take  him  in  as  a  partner  in  his  house. 

M.  Necker,  taking  advantage  of  the  embarrassment  of  the 
royal  treasury,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Abbe  Terray's  admin- 
istration, made  such  good  use  of  the  capital  of  his  patron,  and 
of  the  company,  that  his  share  of  those  profits,  manifestly 
usurious,  was  immense. 

Such  was  the  origin  of  his  fortune,  which  he  augmented 
very  much  at  the  time  of  the  meetings  of  those  who  had  claims 
on  the  old  East  India  Company,  upon  whom  he  had  the  ad- 
dress to  impose  by  manoeuvres  more  lucrative  than  honour- 
able; for  which  he  has  been  since  bitterly  reproached  by  M. 
Panchot,  who  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  that  transaction, 
and  who  was  one  of  the  ablest  calculators  in  France. 

M.  Necker's  foolish  and  enthusiastic  admirers  have  never 
ceased  extolling  his  rare  talent  for  finance;  but  how  can  we 
believe  in  them,  when  we  consider  the  enormous  blunders  he 
committed  in  his  loans,  the  exorbitant  interest  of  annuities 
upon  many  lives,  the  excessive  quantities  of  reimbursements 
at  fixed  periods  and  at  too  short  intervals,  and,  above  all,  the 
false  and  absurd  combination  of  the  last  loan  of  his  first  ad- 
ministration, two-thirds  of  which  remained,  without  value, 
amongst  the  refuse  of  the  royal  treasury,  till  M.  Calonne, 
more  skilful  in  the  management  of  public  credit,  revived,  and 
made  an  advantageous  use  of  it. 

As  for  the  pretended  economy  of  M.  Necker,  M.  Bourgade, 
in  an  excellent  memorial  sent  to  M.  do  Maurepas,  has  plainly 
demonstrated  the  illusion  of  it,  and  made  it  appear,  that  the 
retrenchments,  ordered  by  M.  Xecker  with  that  revolting  harsh- 
ness of  which  he  made  an  ostentatious  display,  only  produced 
inconsiderable  savings;  and,  by  destroying  public  confidence, 
had  done  more  harm  than  good. 

M,  Xecker  owed  his  nomination  to  the  place  of  director  of 


168  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

the  royal  treasury  to  an  intrigue  which  he  set  on  foot  against 
M.  de  Clugny,  at  that  time  comptroller-general. 

M.  Necker  had  framed  a  memorial,  to  prove  that  the  one 
presented  to  the  King  by  that  Minister,  the  import  of  which 
alarmed  M.  de  Maurepas,  was  built  on  false  foundations  and 
incorrect  calculations.  He  there  affirmed,  that  with  more 
ability  it  would  be  easy  to  remedy  every  thing,  and  to  make 
up  the  acknowledged  deficit;  he  pointed  out  the  means,  and 
reserved  the  development  of  them  till  he  should  be  put  into 
a  situation  to  do  it  with  effect.  M.  de  Pezay,  who  enjoyed 
great  credit  with  M.  de  Maurepas,  and  who  (as  it  is  said)  sold 
the  influence  which  he  had  with  that  Minister  at  a  very  high 
price  to  the  persons  who  applied  to  him,  undertook  to  pre- 
sent this  memorial,  and  to  support  it  with  his  whole  credit. 

M.  de  Maurepas,  who  studied  nothing  but  his  own  tran- 
quillity, readily  gave  faith  to  the  delusive  promises  of  a  man, 
who  assured  him  that  affairs  were  in  a  very  good  condition. 
On  the  death  of  M.  Clugny,  therefore,  M.  de  Maurepas  did 
not  hesitate  to  intrust  to  M.  Necker  the  direction  of  the  royal 
treasury,  and  to  appoint  M.  Taboureau  comptroller-general. 

M.  Xecker's  vanity  was  soon  afterwards  wounded  by  the  in- 
feriority to  which  the  place  of  Director  of  the  Finance  was 
reduced,  by  its  being  deprived  of  the  honour  of  direct  com- 
munication with  the  King.  As  soon  as  he  thought  that  he 
had  made  sufficient  progress  in  the  confidence  of  M.  de  Mau- 
repas, and  flattered  himself  with  the  hopes  of  his  support,  he 
found  the  means  of  exciting  a  flnancial  controversy  betwixt 
M.  Taboureau  and  himself.  The  altercation  became  so  vio- 
lent, that  a  reconciliation  betwixt  them  was  no  longer  possible, 
and  M.  de  Maurepas  was  very  much  embarrassed  as  to  what 
conduct  he  should  adopt ;  but  on  letting  it  appear  that  he  was 
inclined  in  favour  of  M.  Necker,  M.  Taboureau,  who  had  ac- 
cepted his  office  with  reluctance,  did  not  hesitate  to  give  in  his 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  169 

resignation.  The  first  operation  of  M.  Neeker,  on  his  becom- 
ing director-general  of  finance,  by  the  resignation  of  M.  Tabou- 
reau,  was  to  suppress  the  places  of  Intendants  of  finance,  filled 
by  old  and  distinguished  members  of  tlie  King's  council,  who, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Controller-General,  superintended 
some  of  the  most  important  parts  of  that  department.  The 
suppression  of  those  places  could  not  be  attended  with  any 
saving,  because  the  appointments  of  those  who  held  them 
consisted  almost  entirely  in  the  interest  of  the  price  which 
they  had  paid  for  their  offices,  and  which  it  was  necessary  to 
reimburse  on  their  dismission.  It  was  presumed,  therefore, 
that  M,  Neeker  was  not  so  much  actuated,  on  this  occasion, 
by  the  real  interest  of  the  State,  as  by  his  own  vanity,  which 
he  felt  wounded,  not  only  by  the  superiority  of  those  persons 
of  rank,  but  also  by  the  superior  talents  of  some  of  them. 

The  chief  direction  of  the  finances  did  not  long  satisfy  his 
ambition.  It  was  not  sufficient  for  him  to  be  precisely  what 
his  predecessors  had  been;  for  whether  it  was  from  whim  or 
from  vanity,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  traits  in  his  charac- 
ter was  a  continual  affectation  of  being  different,  in  the  whole 
of  his  conduct  and  discourse,  from  the  rest  of  mankind. 

The  admiration  excited  by  his  famous  "  Comptc  Rendu " 
(the  first  publication  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of 
France  ever  published),  in  spite  of  the  errors  and  falsehoods 
it  contained,  had  greatly  increased  his  usual  stock  of  vanity. 
His  pretending  to  provide  for  the  expenses  of  the  war  with 
England,  in  favour  of  the  American  war  of  Independence, 
without  imposing  new  taxes,  although  the  attempt  proved  as 
ruinous  to  the  country  as  it  was  absurd  in  itself,  swelled  his 
presumption  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  thouglit  the  place  of 
Director-General  of  the  Finances  beneath  him,  unless  he  was 
also  admitted  into  tlie  Council  of  State.  He  tliought  his  tal- 
ents so  indispensably  necessary,  and  his  credit  so  high,  that 


170  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

the  King  would  deviate  from  the  established  rules  so  far  as 
to  dispense,  in  his  particular  case,  with  the  oath  which  all 
other  ministers  were  obliged  to  take,  before  they  could  be 
admitted  into  the  cabinet,  and  which  he,  as  a  Protestant,  could 
not  take. 

Having  communicated  these  sentiments  to  M.  de  Maurepas, 
that  minister  told  him  that  it  would  be  better  to  make  his 
application  upon  that  subject  to  the  King  by  a  letter,  which 
he  would  undertake  to  deliver  to  his  Majesty.  This  he  did, 
in  the  intention,  as  has  been  generally  imagined,  to  influence 
the  mind  of  the  King  against  so  very  extraordinary  a  re- 
quest. 

M.  Xecker  was  the  more  ardent  in  carrying  this  point,  be- 
cause he  thought  it  absolutely  necessary  to  remove  the  preju- 
dice and  the  ridicule  which  had  been  raised  against  him  by 
a  multitude  of  pamphlets,  and  principally,  by  the  Letter  ad- 
dressed to  d'xllembert,^  in  the  name  of  Carraccioli,  which 
was  in  everybody's  hands. 

No  answer  having  been  sent  to  M.  Xecker's  letter  for  two 
days,  he  was  so  much  irritated,  that  he  carried  his  resigna- 
tion to  the  Queen,  informing  her  Majesty,  that  if  a  place  in 
the  cabinet  was  refused  him,  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  do 
any  further  good.  The  Queen,  to  his  great  astonishment,  re- 
ceived his  resignation  without  any  mark  of  concern,  only  as- 
suring him  that  she  would  deliver  it  to  the  King.  On  the 
following  day,  a  new  Minister  of  Finance  was  appointed. 

The  pride,  hypocrisy,  and  violence  of  M.  ISTecker,  and  liis 
ridiculous  rage  against  all  the  pamphlets  of  which  he  was  the 

1  The  "  Lettre  £1  d'Alembert "  ridiculing  Necker's  personality  and 
financial  proposals  was  written,  not  by  the  Marquis  de  Caraecioli, 
but  by  the  Count  de  Grimourd,  author  of  a  life  of  Frederick  the 
Great  and  many  other  works.  Necker's  extreme  sensitiveness  to 
flattery  or  to  ridicule  has  been  noted  by  other  authors,  as  well  as 
by   Bertrand   de   Moleville. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  171 

subject,  were  very  plainly  manifested,  in  a  truly  curious  con- 
versation which  ho  had  with  the  Comte  de  Vaudreuil,  at  the 
commencement  of  his  first  administration;  of  which  conver- 
sation the  following  is  the  substance,  as  it  was  communicated 
to  me  by  the  Comte  de  Vaudreuil  himself. 

"  Three  months  after  the  nomination  of  M.  Xecker  to 
the  place  of  Director-General  of  Finance,  M.  de  Vaudreuil 
went  to  speak  to  him  on  an  affair  which  regarded  one  of  his 
relations.  He  was  received  with  politeness,  and  even  with 
kindness.  After  having  finished  his  business,  as  he  was  about 
to  retire,  M.  Necker  expressed  a  desire  to  converse  with  him 
a  few  minutes.  '  He  began  with  an  eulogium  on  the  King's 
virtues,  and  on  his  application  to  business.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  another  on  the  Queen.  When  those  topics  were  ex- 
hausted, he  began  to  speak  of  himself,  of  his  labours,  his 
vigilance,  of  the  constant  obstacles  which  he  met  with  in  the 
painful  career  of  his  administration.  He  complained,  with  bit- 
terness, of  the  attacks  of  envy,  and  of  the  libels  which  were 
scattered  abroad  against  him. 

"  The  Count  replied,  '  that  all  persons  in  eminent  situations, 
and  of  great  reputation,  were  exposed  to  that  misfortune;  but 
it  was  to  be  hoped  that  he  would  annihilate  envy  by  the  good- 
ness of  his  measures.' 

" '  I  agree  with  you,'  said  M.  Necker ;  '  but  a  mind  of  such 
sensibility  as  mine  can  Avith  difficulty  support  so  much  injus- 
tice; for  amongst  many  contemptible  libels,  there  are  some 
which  inflict  cruel  wounds,  and  which  make  a  great  impres- 
sion on  the  credulity  of  the  public' 

"  M.  de  Vaudreuil,  imagining  that  he  alluded  to  a  pamphlet 
just  published  by  the  Count  de  Lauraguais,  answered,  with  a 
careless  air,  '  You  have  only  to  peruse  the  late  publication 
of  M.  de  Lauraguais,^  and  you  will  immediately  be  convinced 

2  Louis   L4on   F<5licit<5,    Count    de    Lauraguais,   afterwards   Duke   de 


172  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

that  there  is  nothing  in  it  that  need  give  you  uneasiness.  It 
is  much  too  weak  to  hurt  you.' 

"  M.  de  Vaudreuil  had  no  sooner  made  this  observation, 
than  he  perceived  anger  and  resentment  flash  from  the  eyes  of 
the  philosopher. 

" '  What ! '  cried  he,  '  has  that  villain  written  a  pamphlet 
against  me?  How  dreadful  it  is  to  be  restrained  by  my  min- 
isterial character!  What  pleasure  should  I  feel  in  plunging 
a  poniard  into  his  heart ! ' 

"  M.  de  Vaudreuil,  surprised  and  shocked  at  such  violence, 
immediately  arose,  saying,  as  he  withdrew,  '  Believe  me,  sir, 
I  only  mentioned  to  you  the  name  of  M.  de  Lauraguais,  be- 
cause I  thought  you  were  speaking  to  me  of  his  work.  As- 
suredly it  was  not  my  intention  to  act  the  part  of  an  informer 
against  him.' 

"  The  next  morning  the  Count  d'Adhemar,  one  of  M.  de 
Vaudreuil's  friends,  called  upon  him,  and  read  a  letter  which 
he  had  just  received  from  Madame  Xecker.  The  letter  was 
full  of  inflated  panegyrics  on  M.  do  Vaudreuil,  expressing 
how  much  pleased  ]\L  Xecker  had  been  with  his  conversation, 
and  how  greatly  flattered  by  the  honour  of  his  acquaintance, 
&c.  It  concluded,  jjy  desiring  M.  d'Adhemar  to  procure  from 
his  friend  a  copy  of  the  work  of  M.  de  Lauraguais.     This  the 

I5rancas,  was  before  the  Revolution  a  patron  of  tlie  Drama  and 
author  of  several  plays,  the  be.st  known  of  which  was  the  Tragedy 
of  "  Jocaste."  The  Revolution  turned  his  pen  towards  political  lit- 
erature, and  he  wrote  a  number  of  pamphlets,  more  or  less  satirical 
and  sometimes   brilliant. 

The  pamphlet  here  alluded  to  is  probably  the  "  Letters  on  the 
States-General  convoked  by  Louis  XVL  and  composed  by  ]\I.  Turcot." 
Lauraguais   remained   in   Paris   during  the  whole  of  the   Revolution. 

He  was  not  without  his  misfortunes;  his  Avife  was  guillotined,  he 
was  himself  imprisoned  for  more  than  a  year,  and  the  whole  of  his 
large  fortune  was  confiscated  or  melted  away.  ITe  survived  the 
Republic,  the  Empire  and  the  reign  of  Louis  XVIII.,  dying  at  the 
age  of  91,  in  October    1824. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  173 

former  peremptorily  refused,  declaring,  at  the  same  time,  how 
much  he  had  been  shocked  at  the  indecent  violence  of  the  man, 
and  protesting  that  he  -would  never  again  enter  his  house." 

Notwithstanding  the  unexpected  mortification  which  M. 
Necker  sustained  by  his  dismissal,  he  confronted  himself  in 
the  firm  persuasion  that  he  should  very  soon  be  recalled.  His 
friends  and  creatures,  in  the  meanwhile,  continued  to  assert 
everywhere  that  he  was  the  only  man  who  could  re-establish 
the  affairs  of  the  nation.  A  work  in  four  volumes,  on  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  finance,  was  the  fruit  of  his  retirement, 
and  what  he  conceived  would  be  an  infallible  means  of  pro- 
curing his  recall ;  which,  however,  did  not  take  place  till  some 
years  after;  when  being  recalled  to  the  administration,  he  was 
then  placed  in  the  cabinet  with  more  influence  than  ever. 
The  regulation  of  the  form  for  convoking  the  States-General 
was  then  in  agitation,  and  that  operation  could  not  but  be 
very  embarrassing  to  a  minister,  so  superficially  acquainted, 
as  M.  Necker  was,  with  the  history  and  the  public  law  of 
Erance.  He  employed  several  persons  to  compile  extracts 
from  history,  relative  to  that  subject,  and  to  consult  those 
men  who  were  tbought  the  most  enlightened  in  such  matters. 
Tliis  researcli  being  completed,  M.  Necker,  as  is  generally 
believed,  was  not  a  little  disappointed  by  finding  no  precedent 
or  authority  for  giving  the  Tiers  a  double  representation  in 
the  approaching  assembly  of  the  States-General ;  for  which 
reason  he  prevailed  on  the  King  to  adopt  the  measure  of  con- 
vening the  notables,  to  take  tlieir  opinion. 

Being  too  little  acquainted  with  men  or  with  things  to  fore- 
see the  risk  of  the  smallest  innovation  on  the  ancient  forms 
of  the  Government,  at  a  time  wboii  men's  minds  were  ex- 
tremely agitated ;  or  being  too  presumptuous  to  dread  that 
risk,  M.  Necker  bad  the  imprudence  to  submit  to  the  discus- 
sion of  the  notables  the  important  question  relative  to  the 


174  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OP 

double  representation  of  the  Tiers  Mat,  which  had  been  agi- 
tated in  some  pamphlets;  and  he  had  afterwards  the  rash  in- 
consistency to  influence  his  Majesty  to  decide  in  favour  of  the 
double  representation,  in  contradiction  to  the  almost  unani- 
mous opinion  of  those  very  notables,  who  had  been  called  for 
the  express  purpose  of  giving  their  advice  on  that  important 
point. 

Experience  has  but  too  much  proved  the  pernicious  effect 
of  this  measure.  M.  Necker  certainly  was  not  aware  of  this; 
but  eagerly  grasping  at  popularity,  he  avowed  and  boasted  that 
he  was  the  author  of  this  innovation,  resting  entirely  on  the 
gratitude  of  the  Tiers  ^tat,  and  the  promises  made  him  by 
some  of  their  deputations,  to  employ  all  their  power  to  re-estab- 
lish the  King's  authority,  and  to  put  it  equally  out  of  the  reach 
of  the  attacks  of  the  parliaments  and  of  the  nobility. 

From  that  moment  M.  Necker  showed  himself  the  zealous 
protector  of  the  Commons  and  of  their  pretensions.  He  even 
pushed  his  infatuation  so  far,  as  to  suspend,  by  order  of  coun- 
cil, the  judicial  proceedings  commenced  in  Brittany,  on  ac- 
count of  popular  insurrections  which  had  taken  place  there. 

The  concurrence  of  so  many  titles  seemed  to  give  him  the 
assurance  of  great  credit  in  the  assembly  of  the  States-Gen- 
eral, about  to  open  at  that  time;  and  certainly,  with  a  small 
share  of  address,  and  less  presumption,  he  would  have  acquired 
it  in  a  considerable  degi-ee.  The  deputies  of  the  commons  of 
Brittany,  who  had  the  greatest  share  of  influence  in  their  Or- 
der, were  entirely  disposed  to  be  directed  by  him,  and  addressed 
themselves  to  me  to  make  the  proposal  to  him,  a  fortnight  or 
tliree  weeks  after  the  opening  of  the  Assembly;  but  he  formally 
refused  it,  for  fear  of  being  accused  of  having  procured  a 
double  representation  of  the  Tiers  t^tat,  from  the  sole  view 
of  insuring  their  submission  to  himself.  Being  convinced  tliat 
the  decisions  of  an  assembly,  where  the  commons  had  the  ma- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  175 

jority,  could  not  but  be  favourable  to  his  ambition,  he  thought 
it  would  be  useless  and  perhaps  injurious  to  his  popularity 
to  be  suspected  of  influencing  the  deliberations  of  that  assem- 
bly. He  often  declared,  that  the  duty  of  the  King's  Min- 
ister, with  respect  to  the  States-General,  was  confined  to  the 
assembling  of  them,  and  to  the  conducting  them  to  the  door 
of  the  hall  in  which  they  were  to  meet ;  but  that  when  the  As- 
sembly was  once  opened,  they  ought  no  longer  to  be  directed 
by  any  thing  but  the  light  of  their  own  understandings,  and 
their  instructions. 

At  this  period  M.  Xecker  seemed  to  hold  the  destiny  of 
France  in  his  own  hands.  Without  having  the  title  of  prime 
minister,  he  enjoyed  more  influence  and  power  than  any  prime 
minister  had  ever  possessed.  He  alone  dictated  all  the  deci- 
sions of  the  Council.  His  opinion  was  always  adopted  by  the 
King.  His  colleagues,  who  had  rather  the  appearance  of  be- 
ing his  first  clerks,  were  very  assiduous  in  paying  court  to 
him,  and  from  morning  to  night  his  house  was  full  of  deputies. 

The  debates  which  arose  amongst  the  Tiers  fitat,  at  the 
opening  of  the  States-General,  on  account  of  the  verification 
of  their  powers,  and  respecting  their  voting  by  orders,  had 
engrossed,  for  two  months,  the  labours  of  the  Assembly;  their 
whole  business,  during  that  time,  being  reduced  to  certain  at- 
tacks on  the  royal  authority,  some  of  more,  some  of  less  im- 
portance, to  put  an  end  to  which,  M.  Necker  proposed  the 
famous  declaration  of  the  23d  of  June,  by  which  the  King 
granted  the  principal  demands  made  by  the  instructions  of 
the  deputies,  announced  the  most  favourable  dispositions  with 
regard  to  those  which  required  more  ample  consideration,  es- 
tablished periodical  assemblies  of  the  States-General,  provin- 
cial assemblies,  etc. 

The  measure  was  of  so  much  importance,  that  before  the 
King  adopted  it,  he  thought  it  right  to  submit  it  to  the  dis- 


176  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

cussion  of  an  extraordinary  Council,  to  which  the  princes  his 
brothers,  and  the  most  enlightened  counsellors  of  state,  were 
summoned.  The  plan  of  the  declaration,  framed  by  M. 
Necker,  was  unanimously  adopted,  the  following  corrections 
excepted : 

First,  The  deliberation  of  the  17th  of  June,  in  the  tennis- 
court,  by  which  the  Tiers  fitat  had  declared  itself  a  national 
assembly,  was  not  formally  annulled  in  the  plan  formed  by  M. 
Xecker. 

The  opinion  which  prevailed  at  the  Council  was  formally 
to  declare  the  nullity  of  that  deliberation,  and  of  all  which 
followed  it,  and  to  re-establish  the  title  of  States-General. 

Secondly,  M.  Necker,  in  his  plan,  had  taken  no  notice  of 
the  distinction  of  the  three  classes  of  deputies,  but  had  merely 
authorized  the  Assembly  to  vote  individually  for  that  time 
only;  that  is  to  say,  during  that  session. 

The  opinion  which  prevailed  in  the  Council  was  to  keep 
up  that  distinction,  and  to  authorize  the  Assembly  to  vote  in- 
dividually only  in  the  case  where  the  object  of  deliberation 
equally  regarded  the  citizens  of  all  classes. 

Thirdly,  The  plan  of  M.  Necker  contained  an  article, 
which  declared  that  citizens  of  every  class  should  be  admitted 
equally  to  all  offices,  without  any  other  distinction  than  that 
of  abilities  and  virtues. 

The  opinion  which  prevailed  at  the  Council  was  to  suppress 
that  article,  upon  the  ground,  that  before  the  ordinance,  pub- 
lished in  the  administration  of  the  Mareehal  de  Segur,  the 
citizens  of  all  classes  were  admitted  into  military  employ- 
ments, as  tliey  have  always  been  into  the  magistracy  and  eccle- 
siastical professions;  that  it  was  sufficient,  therefore,  to  revoke 
tliat  ordinance  Ijy  a  new  one,  proceeding  from  the  King,  which 
revocation  would  have  the  whole  effect  of  the  article  proposed 


S/.*-**^^ 


y^rj/cA 


'^^-^/ 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  177 

by  M.  Necker,  and  did  not  require  the  solemnity  of  a  law  pub- 
lished in  the  States-General. 

Lastly,  By  an  article  of  M.  Necker's  plan,  the  Assembly  was 
empowered  to  regulate  the  organization  of  all  future  as- 
semblies of  the  States-General. 

The  opinion  which  prevailed  in  council  was  to  suppress  that 
article,  because  the  right  of  regulating  the  form  and  consti- 
tution of  the  States-General  belongs  essentially,  and  had  al- 
ways belonged,  to  the  King  alone.  And  if  this  article  was 
agreed  to,  the  Assembly  would  imquestionably  decide,  that  all 
future  Assemblies  should  be  composed  precisely  like  the  pres- 
ent; namely,  that  two-thirds  of  the  Assembly  should  be  taken 
from  the  Order  of  the  Tiers :  for  besides  the  six  hundred  depu- 
ties, there  were,  among  the  three  hundred  of  which  the 
clergy  consisted,  at  least  two  hundred  cures,  who,  by  birth, 
belonged  to  the  Tiers  £tat:  of  course  the  King's  ancient 
and  unquestionable  prerogatives,  in  this  particular,  would 
be  entirely  annihilated,  and  the  whole  power  of  the  States- 
General  would  be  transferred  to  the  Tiers  ]5tat. 

The  King  approved  of  these  corrections,  and  announced 
that  he  would  go  the  next  day,  January  23d  1789,  to  the 
Assembly,  with  all  his  Ministers,  to  publish  that  declaration. 
The  mortifications  which  M.  Necker's  vanity  made  him  feel, 
because  his  opinion  had  not  been  entirely  adopted  by  the 
Council,  inspired  him  with  the  insolent  and  fatal  resolution 
not  to  accompany  the  King  to  the  Assembly,  upon  that  occa- 
sion. This  circumstance  was  soon  spread  abroad,  and  all 
the  members  of  the  Assembly,  as  well  as  the  public,  concluded 
that  the  projected  measure  was  contrary  to  the  opinion  of 
M.  Xecker.  That  conjecture,  at  a  moment  when  the  public 
confidence,  and  the  whole  popularity  of  the  administration, 
were  solely  concentred  in  him,  was  sufficient  to  occasion  the 
Vol.  1—12 


178  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

rejection  of  the  most  advantageous  proposals,  without  discus- 
sion. Such,  in  short,  was  the  declaration  of  the  23d  of  June, 
which,  two  months  before,  would  have  been  received  with 
transport,  as  the  most  signal  benefit  that  could  be  conferred  by 
the  King,  and  in  perfect  conformity  with  the  wishes  of  the 
nation. 

The  arrogance  which  the  Assembly  displayed,  in  rejecting 
this  declaration,  but  too  clearly  proved  that  the  royal  author- 
ity was  nearly  annihilated.  It  was  far  otherwise  with  respect 
to  M.  decker's  credit.  It  had  never  been  so  great.  The  As- 
sembly and  the  people  approved,  in  the  highest  degree,  his 
having  dared  to  give  the  first  example  of  opposition  to  the 
royal  will.  On  their  return  from  that  sitting,  the  deputies 
went  in  crowds  to  his  hotel;  but  he  affected  a  slight  indispo- 
sition, as  an  excuse  for  not  receiving  the  whole,  and  ad- 
mitted only  a  very  small  number  of  them.  It  was  feared  that 
his  dismissal  would  be  the  consequence  of  the  pretended  pa- 
triotism which  he  had  the  courage  to  display  on  this  occasion. 
No  more  was  wanting  to  spread  the  alarm  in  Versailles.  In 
the  evening  he  waited  on  the  King.  As  soon  as  it  was  known, 
an  immense  mob  rushed  into  the  court  of  the  palace,  and  soon 
after,  nothing  was  heard  but  shouts  of  Vive  M.  Necher!  K"© 
resignation!  and  not  one  Vive  le  Box!  No  one  doubted,  that 
in  coming  from  the  King,  M.  Xecker  would  have  had  the 
prudent  modesty  to  withdraw  himself  from  the  unbridled 
transports  of  the  populace,  by  returning  by  the  inner  passage 
which  led  from  the  palace  to  the  comptroller-general's  hotel. 
But  he  was  much  too  fond  of  popular  applause  to  wish  to 
lose  any  of  it,  especially  at  a  moment  when  he  considered  it 
as  an  infallible  preservative  against  the  effects  of  the  royal 
displeasure.  He  therefore  came  out  of  the  palace  through 
the  public  court.  Instantly  the  multitude  rushed  to  the  place 
where  he  was  to  pass,  with  redoubled  shouts,  and  made  him 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  179 

promise  not  to  give  in  his  resignation;  which  having  done, 
those  who  were  nearest  raised  him  in  their  arms  to  show  him 
to  the  people,  and  in  that  manner  he  was  carried  in  triumph 
to  his  house. 

From  that  moment  disturbances,  and  the  spirit  of  insurrec- 
tion, made  a  progress  so  rapid  and  so  alarming,  that  the 
King  resolved  to  dismiss  a  set  of  ministers,  who  had  but  too 
well  proved  their  incapacity  to  prevent  the  impending  evils, 
or  to  remedy  them  when  they  arrived.  M.  Necker  was  the  first 
dismissed.  He  departed  secretly,  on  the  11th  of  July,  from 
Versailles,  according  to  the  King's  orders,  and  set  off  for 
Switzerland.  As  soon  as  the  news  of  his  departure  arrived  at 
Paris,  it  excited  the  most  violent  commotions.  His  bust,  and 
that  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  were  paraded  through  the  streets, 
in  the  midst  of  the  most  seditious  clamours  against  the  King, 
and  against  the  new  ministers.  The  Assembly,  either  from 
weakness,  or  from  a  desire  to  preserve,  to  the  Revolution,  such 
a  minister  as  M.  Necker,  instead  of  supporting  the  Government 
with  all  its  authority,  to  secure  the  re-establishment  of  order, 
meanly  followed  the  impulse  of  the  populace,  and  obliged 
the  King  to  recall  the  disgraced  ministers,  or,  to  speak  more 
correctly,  to  recall  M.  Necker;  for  according  to  the  prevailing 
opinion,  the  only  circumstance  which  created  any  degree  of 
interest  in  the  fate  of  the  other  ministers  was  their  having 
the  honour  to  share  his  disgrace. 

If,  at  a  time  when  the  public  opinion  was  so  enthusiastically 
in  his  favour,  M.  Necker  had  refused  to  return,  and  had  con- 
tinued, for  the  rest  of  his  life,  at  his  retreat  in  Switzerland, 
he  might  perhaps  have  been  considered,  by  posterity,  among 
the  greatest  ministers  that  ever  France  produced.  As  for  my 
own  part,  I  should  have  been  well  pleased  that  mankind  had 
continued  in  this  mistake,  because  the  circumstance  which 
removed  it  has  cost  so  very  dear  to  my  country;  for,  uiiliuppily 


180  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

for  France  and  for  the  glory  of  M.  Necker,  he  chose  to  return 
to  the  administration,  and  entirely  removed  the  delusion  under 
which  the  nation  laboured  respecting  his  abilities. 

It  is  difficult  to  calculate  what  would  have  been  the  effects 
of  so  wise  a  determination.  It  is  not  impossible  that  there 
might  have  resulted  from  it  very  serious  attempts  even  upon 
the  person  of  the  King;  and  if  that  consideration  determined 
M.  Necker  to  return  into  administration,  it  is  certainly  im- 
possible not  to  give  him  credit  for  so  generous  a  motive.  But 
to  have  rendered  his  zeal  useful  to  the  King  and  to  the  State, 
at  that  period,  he  had  but  one  line  of  conduct  to  adopt,  which 
was,  to  have  immediately  presented  himself  to  the  Assembly, 
and  after  having  thanked  them  for  the  concern  with  which 
they  had  honoured  him,  to  have  candidly  announced  to  them 
that  he  was  the  author  of  the  declaration  of  the  23d  of  June, 
as  it  had  been  read  in  the  Assembly  except  some  ex- 
pressions which  had  been  altered,  which  by  no  means  al- 
tered the  sense  of  it;  that  he  solemnly  persisted  in  the 
opinion,  that  the  form  of  government  established  by  that 
law,  according  to  the  wishes  expressed  in  the  majority  of  the 
instructions,  was  the  only  one  proper  for  France;  therefore 
his  conscience,  his  honour,  and  his  zeal  made  it  his  duty  not 
to  return  into  administration  till  the  Assembly  had  declared 
their  adherence  to  the  declaration  of  the  23d  of  June.  The 
general  confidence  and  vast  credit  which  M.  Necker  enjoyed 
at  that  moment  enabled  him  to  give  the  people  whatever  im- 
pression he  pleased,  and  to  have  made  it  impossible  for  the 
Assembly  to  have  rejected  his  propositions.  It  was  in  his 
power,  at  this  period,  to  have  had  many  abuses  corrected,  the 
Monarchy,  wisely  limited  and  preserved;  and  by  so  important 
a  service,  he  would  have  secured  to  himself  as  long  a  minis- 
terial career  as  his  ambition  could  have  desired.  But  the 
transports  of  joy  which  burst  from  the  people,  at  his  return, 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  181 

made  him  entirely  lose  his  senses.  His  speech,  or  rather  the 
few  words  which  he  was  able  to  articulate,  though  flat  and 
insignificant,  were  very  much  applauded  at  the  time.  But  not 
satisfied  with  the  incense  he  had  received  at  Versailles,  he 
set  out  to  enjoy  it  in  greater  abundance  at  Paris.  His 
arrival  was  announced  to  the  municipality,  and  all  the  people 
hastened  thither,  to  enjoy  the  happiness  of  seeing  him  again. 
He  first  repaired  to  the  council  of  the  Municipality  which  was 
assembled  in  order  to  receive  him,  and  there  pronounced  a 
pathetic  speech,  in  which  he  requested,  as  the  greatest  proof 
which  the  citizens  of  Paris  could  give  him  of  their  attachment, 
that  his  return  might  be  the  epocha  of  the  re-establishment  of 
order  and  of  peace,  the  forgetting  of  all  resentments,  of  a 
general  amnesty  in  favour  of  those  who  had  been  prosecuted 
or  arrested  on  account  of  the  late  disturbances,  and  especially 
of  M.  de  Besenval,^  his  countryman  and  friend.  All  these 
demands  were  voted,  and  agreed  to  unanimously  by  the  Coun- 
cil, and  by  the  immense  crowd  which  filled  the  tribunes  and 
the  galleries.  He  could,  without  the  smallest  difficulty,  have 
obtained  anything  he  had  thought  proper  to  have  asked.  He 
afterwards  went  to  one  of  the  halls  in  the  Hotel  de  Yille; 
and,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  himself  to  the  people  in  tlio 
most  interesting  point  of  view,  ho  appeared  in  one  of  the  bal- 
conies which  looked  into  the  Place  de  Grave,  between  his  wife 
jind  daughter,  who,  to  render  the  exhibition  quite  sentimental 
and  affecting,  and  also  to  draw  part  of  the  applause  to  them- 
selves, kissed  his  hands,  and  embraced  him  repeatedly. 

3  Pierre  Victor,  Baron  de  Besenval,  a  Swiss  General  in  the  service 
of  France,  was  in  the  command  of  the  troops  stationed  around 
Paris  in  1789.  Finding  the  Army  under  his  command  mutinous  and 
out  of  hand,  he  determined  to  leave  France,  and  obtained  a  pass- 
port enabling  him  to  do  so.  He  was  arrested  and  sent  for  trial 
for  desertion  before  the  Court  of  the  Chatelet  which  acquitted  him. 
He  is  best  remembered  by  his  Memoirs,  first  published  in  4  volumes, 
Paris,    1805-06. 


182  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

He  returned  to  Versailles,  charmed  with  success,  and  more 
than  ever  convinced  of  his  own  vast  power  and  Influence  over 
the  minds  of  the  people.  But  that  illusion  did  not  long  con- 
tinue. Scarce  had  he  arrived  at  the  barrier  of  Paris,  when 
the  sections  being  assembled,  and  having  heard  what  had 
passed  at  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  considered  the  declaration  which 
had  taken  place,  on  the  proposal  of  M.  Necker,  as  a  manifest 
attack  on  the  rights  of  the  King  and  of  the  National  As- 
sembly, who  alone  were  competent  to  grant  an  amnesty ;  conse- 
quently the  deliberation  was  declared  null  by  the  sections; 
and  four  hours  after  the  departure  of  the  courier  dispatched 
to  set  M.  de  Besenval  at  liberty,  other  couriers  were  sent,  to 
order  him  to  be  again  arrested.  This  fatal  reverse,  which  Mr. 
Necker  could  only  impute  to  the  absurdity  of  his  own  conduct, 
was  like  a  clap  of  thunder  to  him.  His  haughtiness  and  his 
hopes  abandoned  him.  His  importance  and  his  popularity 
declined  daily  with  the  greatest  rapidity.  Thus  the  day  which 
he  considered  as  the  most  glorious  of  his  life,  was,  in  fact,  the 
last  day  of  his  glory.  Far  from  preserving  any  credit  with 
the  Assembly,  he  saw  it  diminishing  daily.  Those  who  had 
before  been  his  secret  enemies,  now  declared  themselves  openly, 
attacking  him  with  bitterness,  and  overwhelming  him  with 
odium.  They  at  length  reduced  him  to  the  humiliating  neces- 
sity of  escaping,  in  the  night-time,  from  the  danger  of  a  popu- 
lar insurrection,  which  they  excited  solely  for  the  purpose  of 
alarming  and  driving  him  out  of  France. 

Thus  miserably  ended  the  ministerial  career  of  that  extraor- 
dinary man,  whose  faults  have  cost  France  so  dear.  I  say 
his  faults,  and  not  his  crimes;  for  though  I  cannot  reproach 
myself  with  having  felt,  for  a  moment,  the  smallest  prejudice 
in  favour  of  M.  Necker,  I  knew  him  well  enough  to  be 
firmly  persuaded  that  he  never  intended  the  ill  he  has  done, 
or  that  he  had  the  least  notion  that  his  measures  would  pro- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  183 

duce  it.  I  only  blame  his  vanity  and  his  extravagant  pre- 
sumption. He  so  completely,  in  his  conscience,  believed 
himself  to  be  the  ablest  minister  that  ever  existed,  that  he 
would  have  been  mortified  to  have  only  been  compared  with 
Sully  and  Colbert.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  believe,  that  he 
combined,  in  a  superior  degree,  all  the  great  qualities  of  the 
greatest  ministers,  without  any  of  their  faults.  Independent 
of  his  superiority  over  them  in  what  regarded  his  administra- 
tion, he  thought  that  the  confidence  which  the  public  had  in 
his  virtues  and  talents  would  enable  him  to  embark  in  greater 
undertakings  than  any  of  his  predecessors. 

When  recalled  to  administration,  that  same  presumption, 
that  same  confidence  in  his  own  superior  genius,  which  had 
always  distinguished  him,  made  him  believe  that  he  alone  was 
capable  of  effecting  the  restoration  of  France,  by  giving  it  a 
new  constitution.  He  was  thoroughly  persuaded,  that  the 
best  constitution  for  France  would  be  that  which  should  se- 
cure to  a  minister,  like  himself,  the  greatest  share  of  influ- 
ence in  the  Government,  and  the  firmest  stability  in  his  situa- 
tion. He  thought  that  the  surest  means  of  attaining  that  end, 
was  to  conciliate  the  favour  and  attachment  of  the  majority  of 
the  States-General.  If  they  had  been  constituted  according 
to  the  ancient  forms,  the  majority  would  have  rested  in  the 
united  orders  of  the  clergy  and  the  nobility.  M.  Necker 
having  no  means  of  attaching  to  himself  the  members  of  these 
two  orders,  they,  as  they  were  not  connected  with  him,  and 
looked  for  no  service  at  his  hands,  owed  him  no  gratitude.  The 
measure  he  chose  to  adopt,  therefore,  was,  that  of  loudly  pro- 
claiming himself  the  protector  of  the  Tiers  ;fitat.  He  was 
resolved  to  risk  every  thing,  in  order  to  give  them  the  pre- 
ponderance, not  doubting  but  that  as  that  Order  would  owe 
to  him  all  its  power,  it  would  use  it  in  the  manner  most  con- 
formable to  the  views  of  so  popular  a  minister. 


184  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

Such  seems  to  me  the  most  rational  judgment  which  those 
who  knew  M.  Xecker  could  form  of  his  conduct.  To  him, 
certainly,  the  disasters  of  the  Revolution  are  chiefly  due;  but 
they  must  be  set  down  to  the  account  of  his  vanity  and  want 
of  ability,  not  to  that  of  his  wickedness.  I  am  as  far  from 
believing,  with  the  admirers  of  M.  ISTecker,  that  he  was  the 
ablest  of  ministers  and  the  most  virtuous  of  men,  as  from 
admitting,  with  his  detractors,  that  he  wished  to  destroy  the 
monarchy,  the  nobility,  and  the  clergy,  because  he  was  himself 
a  republican  of  low  extraction,  and  a  Protestant.  Posterity, 
which  will  appreciate  him  without  prejudice,  will  see  in  him  a 
man,  selfish,  ambitious,  and  vain;  foolishly  intoxicated  with 
the  merit  which  he  believed  himself  to  possess,  and  jealous  of 
that  of  others;  desirous  of  excess  of  honour  and  of  power; 
virtuous  in  words  and  through  ostentation  more  than  in  re- 
ality. In  a  word,  he  was  a  presumptuous  empiric  in  politics 
and  morals;  but  he  was  conscientiously  so,  for  he  was  always 
the  first  dupe  of  his  own  empiricism. 

He  was  attached  to  France,  if  not  by  affection,  at  least  from 
always  having  considered  it  as  the  theatre  of  glory  to  which 
he  thought  himself  summoned. 

Fifty  years  sooner,  when  France  was  in  tranquillity,  his 
administration  would  have  proved  no  more  hurtful  to  that 
nation,  than  the  magnetism  of  Mesmer  to  men  of  firmness  and 
sound  understanding. 

As  a  Minister,  he  had  no  other  merit  than  that  of  having 
acquired  a  perfect  knowledge  of  what  is  called  the  mechanism 
of  finances;  but  he  was  perfectly  ignorant  of  the  laws  of  the 
Kingdom,  and  of  the  principles  of  administration.  As  a  lit- 
erary man,  although  his  works  are  laboriously  composed,  and 
written  with  affected  emphasis,  yet  the  useful  truths  which 
some  of  them  contain  will  secure  him  a  place  among  the  dis- 
tinguished writers  of  the  age. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  danger  of  permitting  the  National  Assembly  to  issue  decrees. — 
Motives  and  means  of  maintaining  the  practice  of  voting  by 
Order. —  The  dismission  and  recall  of  M.  Necker. —  Endeavours 
of  the  deputies  from  Brittany  to  get  me  appointed  Garde  dc 
Sceaua;. —  Opposition  on  my  part. —  Memorial,  on  the  reformation 
of  which  the  magistracy  was  susceptible. —  New  organization  of 
the  administrative  bodies. —  Advantages  which  might  have  been 
drawn  from  it. —  Character  of  M.  de  Montmorin. —  Retreat  of  M. 
de  Fleurieu,  in  consequence  of  the  perfidious  conduct  of  one  of 
his  clerks. —  The  King,  through  M.  de  Montmorin,  offers  me  the 
place  of  Minister  of  the  Marine. —  Reasons  of  my  refusing. —  The 
appointment  of  M.  Thevenard  to  that  office. 

The  first  deliberation,  which  the  Assembly  thought  proper 
to  denominate  Decree,  was,  by  this  title  alone,  not  only  a 
violation  of  the  ancient  constitution,  which  never,  in  any  case, 
authorised  the  States-General  to  issue  decrees,  but  it  was  also 
tlie  most  serious  possible  attempt  against  royal  authority, 
which,  from  that  moment,  ceased  to  exist.  This  point  was 
thoroughly  canvassed  in  the  memorial  above-mentioned,  which 
M.  de  Montmorin  gave  to  M.  Xecker,  in  which  I  insisted,  that 
there  was  no  law  of  the  kingdom,  authorising  the  States-Gen- 
eral to  issue  decrees;  and  that,  in  fact,  no  Assembly  of  the 
States  had  ever  assumed  that  prerogative;  that  if  this  form 
should  be  introduced  through  a  new  Constitution,  approved  of 
by  the  King  and  the  nation,  good  and  well:  but  no  such 
thing  existed  at  present,  and  the  conduct  of  the  States-General 
should  be  regulated  according  to  the  existing  laws;  therefore 
all  the  acts  hitherto  made  by  the  States,  and  entitled  decrees, 
ought  to  be  annulled.  For  if  the  Assembly  could  of  them- 
selves pronounce  decrees,  independent  of  any  interposition  of 


186  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

the  King,  what  security  had  the  nation  that  tliey  would  not 
issue  a  decree  for  taking  possession  of  the  finances,  in  which 
case  the  King  would  become  a  mere  cipher,  and  the  monarchy 
would  be  annihilated?  In  fact,  the  National  Assembly  after- 
wards perceived  the  force  of  this;  for  by  the  Constitution 
which  they  established,  no  act  of  the  Assembly  could  have  the 
force  of  a  law  or  decree,  until  it  received  the  King's  appro- 
bation. 

The  best  method  of  avoiding  this  danger  was  to  insist  upon 
the  States  voting  by  their  different  Orders;  and  the  present 
emergency  presented  the  King  with  a  just  and  indisputable 
motive  of  terminating  the  disputes  which  had  arisen  upon  this 
occasion,  and  of  deciding  the  question  against  individual 
votes. 

The  Nobility,  and  the  higher  order  of  the  Clergy  of  Brit- 
tany, had  refused  to  name  their  deputies  to  the  States-Gen- 
eral, upon  the  pretence  that  the  form  of  their  convocation 
was  contrary  to  the  customs  and  privileges  of  the  province. 
The  ten  deputies  that  the  higher  clergy  ought  to  have 
named,  were  replaced  by  ten  cures  who  belonged  to  the  Third 
Order,  at  least  by  birth;  but  the  twenty-one  deputies,  which 
the  Noblesse  of  Brittany  ought  to  have  sent,  were  not  re- 
placed by  the  gentlemen  of  the  other  provinces;  therefore  the 
Order  of  the  nobility  had,  in  the  States-General,  twenty-one 
members  less,  and  the  Order  of  the  Tiers  had  about  ten  mem- 
bers more,  than  they  ought.  It  necessarily  resulted,  that  in 
every  question  decided  by  individual  votes,  the  Order  of  the 
Clergy  and  the  Nobility  would  constantly  find  themselves  in 
a  minority  of  twenty-one  at  least;  and  that  consequently  all 
the  power  of  this  Assembly,  composed  of  three  Orders,  would 
reside  in  one  exclusively.  This  simple  calculation,  inserted  in 
the  preamble  of  a  law  in  which  the  King  would  have  pre- 
scribed to  the  Assembly  to  vote  by  Orders,  would  have  been 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  187 

sufficient  to  have  shown  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  the  measure, 
and  have  gained  the  King  all  the  suffrages.  But  M.  ISTecker 
was  not  yet  convinced,  that  voting  individually  was  more 
dangerous  than  useful.  And  with  regard  to  the  title  which 
the  Assembly  gave  to  its  acts,  he  placed  no  importance  upon 
it.  "  It  is  only,"  said  he  to  M.  de  Montmorin,  "  a  mere  dis- 
pute upon  words;  and  it  is  not  with  words  that  we  must  oc- 
cupy ourselves.  The  parliaments  give  decisions  (arrets),  the 
Assembly  issues  decrees,  but  the  King  always  preserves  the 
right  of  annulling  the  decisions  and  decrees  which  are  contrary 
to  law." 

All  this  fine  reasoning  was  completely  false,  and  only  proved 
the  want  of  foresight  in  the  man;  for  it  is  but  too  certain, 
that  words  have  been  one  great  instrument  of  the  Eevolution. 
It  was  by  words,  which  the  people  did  not  comprehend,  that 
their  character,  morals,  and  customs,  were  changed,  and  that 
they  were  at  length  brought  to  consider  the  greatest  crimes 
as  acts  of  patriotism  and  virtue.  On  the  other  hand,  could 
M.  Necker,  with  sincerity,  compare  the  decisions  of  courts  of 
justice  to  the  acts  of  sovereign  legislation,  proceeding  from  a 
Xational  Assembly,  whose  ambitious  presumption  so  evidently 
tended  to  deprive  the  King  of  all  authority?  The  decision 
made  in  the  tennis-court,  by  which  the  Third  Order  had 
constituted  itself,  by  its  own  authority,  "  The  National  As- 
sembly," was  broken  by  an  article  in  the  King's  declaration 
of  the  23d  of  June.  But  this  article  had  the  fate  of  the 
whole  declaration,  which  proved  abortive,  as  the  Assembly  re- 
fused to  obey  it,  the  Ministry,  under  the  influence  of  M. 
Xecker,  being  afraid  to  enforce  its  execution.  The  King  be- 
coming, at  length,  sensible  of  this,  came  to  the  resolution  of 
dismissing  M.  Necker,  and  also  those  Ministers  who  were  either 
deceived  or  misled  by  him.  But  the  insurrection  at  Paris, 
which  liappened  three  days  after,  obliged  the  new  Ministers  to 


188  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

give  in  their  resignation,  and  quit  the  Kingdom;  the  sole 
means  of  escaping  the  fury  of  the  people,  who  demanded,  with 
loud  cries,  the  recall  of  M.  Necker,  and  those  of  his  colleagues 
who  partook  in  his  disgrace;  to  all  which  requisitions,  it  is 
universally  known,  the  King  was  forced  to  consent. 

As  soon  as  the  day  of  M.  Necker's  arrival  at  Versailles  was 
known,  the  deputation  from  the  commons  of  Brittany  waited 
on  him,  and  delivered  him  a  memorial,  the  object  of  which 
was  to  demand  the  place  of  Garde  des  Sceaux  ^  for  me.  I  was 
no  sooner  informed  of  this  step,  than  I  wrote  to  M.  Necker, 
to  assure  him  I  had  no  part  in  it,  and  requesting  him  not  to 
think  of  me  for  any  place  whatever,  because  I  knew  of  none  in 
which  I  could  be  of  any  use  in  the  present  circumstances.  He 
did  not  answer  this  letter;  and  the  Archbishop  of  Bourdeaux 
(Champion  de  Cice)  was  named  Garde  des  Sceaux. 

It  was  but  too  easy  to  foresee,  that  every  place  to  which  I 
might  be  supposed,  from  my  former  situations,  to  have  pre- 
tensions, would  soon  become  dangerous,  and  almost  impossible 
for  a  man  of  honour  and  integrity  to  fulfil  with  utility.  I 
therefore  gave  myself  up  entirely  to  the  duties  of  my  office 
of  maitre  des  requetes,  to  the  Privy  Council,  &c. 

At  the  period  when  the  Assembly  prepared  to  regulate  the 

1  The  Office  of  Chancellor  of  France,  who  was  also  "  Garde  des 
Sceaux"  (Keeper  of  the  Seals)  was  before  the  Revolution,  the 
highest  Office  in  the  Kingdom.  The  Chancellor  of  France,  like  the 
Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  was  the  head  of  all  the  Law  Courts 
and  of  the  legal  profession  and  enjoyed  many  high  privileges  and 
honours ;  he  was  immovable  except  by  death  or  resignation. 

The  Last  Chancellors  of  France  and  Keepers  of  the  Seals  under 
Louis  XVI.  were  C  F.  de  Kimoignon,  1787-1788;  C.  L.  F.  de  Barentin, 
1788-July  1789;  Champion  de  Cic6,  Archbishop  of  Bordeaux,  August 
178!),  to  November  1790,  and  Duport  Diitortre,  who  succeeded  to 
the  title  of  "Garde  des  Sceaux  and  Minister  of  Justice,"  21  November 
1790,  to  22  March  1792. 

His  successors  during  the  Revolution  were  known  only  as  "  Minis- 
ters of  Justice." 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  189 

courts  of  justice,  I  published  a  memorial,  indicating  some 
reforms  of  which  those  courts  were  susceptible.  The  constant 
and  laborious  study  which  I  had  bestowed  on  this  subject,  en- 
abled me  to  propose  a  plan,  in  which  all  that  seemed  good 
in  the  ancient  institutions  should  be  united  with  whatever 
was  wise  and  useful  in  the  various  systems  now  proposed. 
Several  members  of  the  Council  and  the  Parlement,  and  many 
of  the  deputies,  greatly  approved  of  my  memorial ;  and  I  have 
reason  to  believe  that  it  would  have  proved  of  some  utility,  if 
the  party  which  governed  the  Assembly  had  not  been  itself 
governed  by  a  rage  as  extravagant  as  it  proved  fatal.  Thus 
the  Parlements,  betrayed  or  ill  supported  by  some  of  their 
own  members,  who  happened  to  be  deputies  to  the  States-Gen- 
eral, and  vilified  by  the  numerous  band  of  advocates  and  at- 
torneys, who  formed  the  majority  of  the  Tiers,  became  among 
the  first  victims  of  the  desolating  genius  of  that  Assembly, 
whose  convocation  they  themselves  had  promoted. 

The  organization  of  the  Department  of  the  Municipalities, 
and  particularly  of  the  Districts  ^  of  Paris,  introduced  a  new 

-  For  the  purpose  of  electing  deputies  to  serve  in  the  States-General 
of  1789,  Paris  was  divided  into  sixty  districts.  Legally  these  districts 
should  have  ceased  to  exist  as  soon  as  the  elections  were  completed, 
but  in  fact,  the  electors  in  each  District  continued  to  meet  and  after 
the  capture  of  the  Bastille,  July  1789,  the  districts  were  used  both 
for  political  purposes  and  as  the  Headquarters  of  the  National  Guard. 
In  a  short  time  each  District  had  raised  a  military  force  consisting 
of  a  Battalion  of  the  National  Guard  and  a  company  of  Artillery, 
and  each  possessed  a  flag  of  its  own. 

On  the  21st  May  1790,  the  Constituent  Assembly  passed  a  Decree 
which  substituted  the  forty-eight  Sections  of  Paris  for  the  existing 
Districts.  Tliis  law  was  passed  with  the  view  of  diminishing  the 
power  of  the  Districts,  but,  far  from  succeeding  in  this  purpose,  the 
Sections  soon  became  much  more  dangerous  and  menacing  to  the 
central  Government  than  the  Districts  had  been. 

The  famous  insurrection  of  the  13th  Vendemiaire,  when  Paris  rose 
against  the  Convention,  was  due  to  the  union  of  several  of  tlie 
Sections  of   Paris.     The  insurrection  would  probably  have  succeeded 


190  PKIVATE  MEMOIRS  OP 

power,  upon  the  scene  of  the  Revolution,  which  the  factions 
took  advantage  of,  to  render  its  course  more  rapid;  but  which 
might  have  been  made  subservient  to  stop  it  entirely,  or,  at 
least,  to  direct  it  better.  This  might  have  been  accomplished, 
if  the  Nobility,  instead  of  rendering  themselves  of  no  conse- 
quence, by  acting  singly,  and  by  manifesting  the  greatest, 
and,  unfortunately,  the  most  fruitless  antipathy  against  the 
pretended  constitutional  decrees,  had  seemed  to  yield  to  cir- 
cumstances, and  had  reserved  their  final  opinion  of  the  merit 
of  the  new  laws  to  future  experience.  They  would  soon  have 
had  the  majority  in  the  Assemblies  of  the  Districts,  provided 
they  had  attended  them  assiduously,  and  shown  this  spirit  of 
moderation  and  prudence.  It  would  have  been  an  easy  matter 
for  them  to  have  taken  a  decisive  lead  in  the  deliberations  at 
first,  because,  in  the  beginning,  the  citizens  and  the  inferior 
class,  furnished  but  very  indifferent  orators,  and  still  fewer 
tolerable  writers;  and  such  a  number  of  both  would  not  have 
been  formed  among  the  Tiers,  if  those  who  were  distinguished 
by  the  appellation  of  aristocrats  had  not  abstained  from  attend- 
ing the  Assemblies. 

I  had  an  opportunity  of  convincing  myself  of  this  truth,  in 
the  Assemblies  of  the  District  "  des  minimes,"  where,  how- 
ever, I  only  went,  for  the  first  time,  six  months  after  its  open- 
ing. M.  de  Corberon,  counsellor  of  the  parliament  of  Paris, 
that  day  filled  the  president's  chair.  He  never  opened  his 
mouth  without  receiving  applause;  and  every  motion  was 
passed  or  rejected,  according  as  he  thought  proper  to  support 
or  oppose  it.     The  other  orators  most  in  credit,  were  coun- 

but  for  the  accident  of  General  Bonaparte's  having  been  called  in  at 
the  last  moment  to  command  the  forces  of  the  Convention. 

But  the  danger  with  which  the  Government  was  threatened  was 
too  obvious  to  be  overlooked  and  the  Convention  took  advantage  of 
its  victory  to  abolish  tlie  Sections  altogether  by  a  Decree  of  the  9th 
October  ITQf). 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  191 

sellors  belonging  to  the  Chatelet/  advocates,  attorneys,  no- 
taries, &c.,  all  men  tolerably  well  educated,  and  of  good  sense. 
The  inferior  and  uneducated  people,  at  this  time,  did  not  even 
presume  to  speak. 

The  day  after  I  had  been  enrolled  in  the  list  of  active  citi- 
zens, I  was  voted,  by  an  almost  unanimous  voice.  Commissary 
of  the  District,  although  I  was  only  known  by  an  opinion  I 
had  pronounced  in  the  Assembly  of  that  District  on  the  preced- 
ing day,  and  which  had  been  adopted.  I  found  the  committee 
composed  of  the  wisest  persons  of  the  Assembly.  No  aristo- 
crats, indeed,  but  many  as  much  royalists  as  myself;  all,  ex- 
cepting one  Dutrouillet,  a  mad  republican,  and  since  member 
of  the  convention.  His  extravagant  declamations  against  the 
executive  power  were  overlooked,  on  account  of  his  ardent  zeal 
for  the  poor,  and  for  the  general  interest  of  the  people,  of 
whom  he  always  spoke  in  that  bombastic  language  which  is  so 
often  mistaken,  by  the  multitude,  for  eloquence.  There  were 
some  other  seditious  spirits  in  the  section,  who,  from  time  to 
time,  attempted  revolutionary  motions,  in  the  meetings  of  the 
district;  but  the  least  objection  was  sufficient  for  them  to  be 
rejected,  and  often  turned  into  ridicule. 

3  The  Chatelet  was  the  Law  Court  of  the  "  Bailliage "  of  Paris, 
answering  in  some  degree  to  the  Lord  Mayor's  Court  of  the  City  of 
London.  By  a  Decree  of  the  Constituent  Assembly,  14  October  1789, 
the  Court  was  charged  with  the  trial  of  the  new  crime  of  "  Leze- 
Nation "    (High  treason  against  the  Nation). 

The  most  famous  trials  of  this  description  were  those  of  the 
Marquis  de  Lambesc,  Baron  Besenval  and  the  author  of  the  insur- 
rection of  the  Gth  October.  The  judgments  of  the  Court  were  too 
much  in  accordance  with  legal  justice  and  too  little  in  accordance 
with  revolutionary  principles  to  commend  themselves  to  the  Assembly 
and  to  the  People  of  Paris.  The  Court  was  therefore  abolished  on 
the  14th  October  1790,  and  the  duty  of  trying  political  offences  was 
transferred  to  a  "  High  National  Court "  to  sit  at  Orleans.  This 
Court,  which  never  had  any  practical  existence,  was  in  its  turn 
superseded  by  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal,  the  most  amazing  Court 
of  Justice  in  the  history  of  the  world,  ancient  or  modern. 


192  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

The  good  disposition  of  our  Assemblies  was  daily  fortified 
and  improved  by  advantageous  acquisitions.  The  first  presi- 
dent of  " la  Cour  des  Aides"  and  the  president  of  "  la  Cour 
de  Monnoyes,"  who  came  after  me,  attended  with  unremitting 
assiduity;  and  for  some  time  the  Section  des  Minimes  was  dis- 
tinguished from  all  the  others  by  the  wisdom  of  its  decisions, 
the  energy  of  its  petitions  to  the  National  Assembly,  and  by  its 
prudent  addresses  to  the  other  Sections. 

All  the  new  theories  of  administration  were  discussed,  in 
these  Assemblies,  with  as  much  force  as  clearness,  though  al- 
ways in  that  patriotic  style  which  it  was  then  absolutely  nec- 
essary to  assume,  in  order  to  be  listened  to;  and  by  repeating, 
as  often  as  possible,  the  words  "  liberty,  equality,  the  rights  of 
men,"  &c. 

If,  in  the  other  parts  of  the  kingdom,  or  even  in  the  other 
Sections  of  Paris,  all  reasonable  people  had  followed  our  ex- 
ample, it  is  more  than  probable  that  they  would,  like  us,  have 
succeeded  in  preventing  or  unmasking  the  criminal  manoeuvres 
of  the  factions,  and  gradually  acquired  such  a  degree  of  credit, 
in  the  majority  of  the  Districts,  as  would  have  influenced  the 
National  Assembly,  and  produced  the  happiest  effects  in  the 
course  of  the  Revolution. 

As  the  District  of  the  Minimes  gave  the  greatest  umbrage  to 
the  Jacobins,  they  determined  to  use  every  means  to  disturb 
its  meetings,  and  to  terrify  respectable  citizens  from  attending 
it;  for  which  purpose  numerous  detachments  of  their  boister- 
ous adherents  derided,  insulted,  and  threatened  all  whose  opin- 
ions were  dictated  by  good  sense  and  moderation.  The  Dis- 
trict supported  these  insults  for  some  time,  but  the  most 
moderate  withdrew  themselves,  when  they  found  that  their 
perseverance  answered  no  end.  This  manoeuvre  of  the  Jaco- 
bins, which  was  irresistible  against  a  single  District,  would  not 
have  succeeded,  if  they  had  been  obliged  to  employ  it  against 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  193 

all  the  Districts  of  Paris;  as  they  would  have  reciprocally  as- 
sisted each  other,  and  baffled  the  designs  of  that  faction. 

It  may  not  be  improper  here  to  relate  an  anecdote,  which 
may  serve  to  give  an  idea  of  the  freedom  of  opinions  in  this 
District.  When  they  proceeded  to  the  election  of  the  Mayor 
of  Paris,  M.  de  Corberon  said,  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by 
about  fifty  people,  who  were  on  the  same  side  of  the  hall,  "  As 
I  firmly  believe  that  the  Mayor,  whom  we  are  going  to  choose, 
will  be  hanged  at  last,  I  shall  give  my  vote  for  the  man  who  I 
think  best  deserves  a  gibbet,  and  that  is  the  Duke  of  Orleans." 
This  speech,  which  soon  spread  over  the  Assembly,  so  far 
from  exciting  displeasure,  was  rather  applauded  than  blamed. 

I  may  mention,  as  another  instance  to  the  same  purpose,  that 
I  had,  for  more  than  nine  months,  attended  the  Assemblies 
of  the  District,  and  the  meetings  of  the  committees,  without 
a  national  cockade,*  and  no  notice  was  taken  of  it  but  by  my 

■*  The  idea  of  a  "  National  Cockade "  was  originated  by  Camille 
Desmoulins,  who  while  haranguing  the  people  of  Paris  in  the  garden 
of  the  Palais  Royal  on  the  11th  July  1789,  plucked  a  handful  of 
green  leaves  from  a  tree  and  placed  them  as  a  cockade  in  his  hat, 
saying  "  Green  is  the  colour  of  Hope."  His  example  was  followed 
by  the  crowd,  who  soon  stripped  the  leaves  from  half  the  trees  in  the 
garden. 

On  the  morning  of  the  14th  July,  the  Provost  Flesselles,  doomed 
to  die  a  horrible  death  a  few  hours  later,  tried  to  delay  the  mob 
by  distributing  to  them  "  to  keep  them  amused,"  cockades  of  rose 
and  blue,  the  colours  of  Paris.  Finally  La  Fayette  distributed  to 
the  National  Guard,  the  tricolour  cockade,  composed  of  white,  the 
Royal  colour,  and  red  and  blue,  the  colours  of  Paris.  The  royalists 
tried  to  adopt  the  white  cockade,  but  were  soon  beaten  out  of  the 
field  by  the  more  vigorous  patriots. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Paris  mob  was  incited  to  march 
on  Versailles  by  the  summons,  probably  false,  that  during  the  dinner 
given  by  the  "  Garde  du  Corps  "  to  the  Flanders  Regiment  and  the 
National  Guard  of  Versailles,  the  National  Cockade  had  been  tram- 
pled under   foot  and   the  White   Cockade  substituted   for   it. 

On  the  .31st  May  1790,  the  King  issued  a  Proclamation  ordering 
that,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  order,  the  National  Cockade  was 
the  only  badge  which  was  to  be  worn  in  future  and  forbidding  the 
Vol.  1—13 


194  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

friends,  who  were  apprehensive  that  this  imprudence  would 
expose  me  to  insults;  but  I  had  such  a  horror  of  that  badge 
of  crime  and  revolt,  that  to  avoid  wearing  it,  I  had  never, 
since  the  King's  arrival,  gone  to  the  Tuileries,  or  to  any 
public  place,  where  I  could  not  be  admitted  without  a  cockade. 
I  wore  it,  for  the  first  time,  on  the  day  in  which  the  King 
sent  for  me,  to  propose  to  me  the  place  of  Minister  of  Marine. 
My  forced  retreat  from  the  District  of  the  Minimes  obliged 
me  to  turn  back  to  that  state  of  inactivity,  to  which  my  resig- 
nation of  the  Intendance  of  Brittany  had  reduced  me,  and 
I  became  one  of  that  too  numerous  class  which  remained 
passive  spectators  of  this  Eevolution,  of  which  murder  and 
pillage  were  at  once  the  object  and  the  means;  a  revolution, 
of  which  the  whole  Kingdom  was  to  be  the  prey;  that  has 
neither  spared  its  authors  nor  their  accomplices;  for  already 
many  of  them  have  been  sacrificed,  and,  being  joined  to  more 
illustrious  names,  enlarge  the  immense  list  of  its  victims. 
From  this  time  I  confined  myself  to  my  own  family,  and  to  the 
society  of  a  few  friends,  only  occupying  myself  in  arrang- 
ing my  moderate  fortune  in  such  a  manner  as  would  enable 
me  to  leave  the  Kingdom,  when  I  could  no  longer  remain  in 
it  with  safety.  I  continued,  however,  to  dine  once  a  week 
with  the  Count  of  Montmorin,^  with  whom  I  had  been  inti- 

use  of  any  other.  Even  in  1790  and  1791  Bertrand  was  a  bold  man 
to  venture  in  the  streets  without  this  patriotic  emblem.  Had  he 
remained  in  France,  and  survived  (an  impossible  supposition)  for  a 
year  or  two  longer  such  hardihood  would  probably  have  cost  him  his 
head.  Under  the  Convention  several  Decrees  on  the  National  Cockade 
were  enacted.  One  of  these  ordered  the  arrest  and  prosecution  of 
any  person  found  in  the  streets  walking  Cockade-less;  a  second  ex- 
tended its  compulsory  use  to  women  (regardless  of  their  complexion 
or  of  the  colour  of  their  hair)  ;  while  a  third  made  it  a  capital 
offence   to  tear  off,   or  in  any  way   insult  the   Cockade. 

5  Armand  Marc,  Count  de  Montmorin  Saint  Herew,  was  a  cadet 
of  an  old  family  of  Auvorgne.  His  earlier  life  was  passed  as  one 
of  the  pages  of  the  Dauphin    (afterwards  Louis  XVI.)    and   later  in 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  195 

mately  connected  ever  since  our  residence  in  Brittany,  where 
he  was  commander  in  chief  when  I  was  named  Intendant  of 
the  province.  He  had  remained  in  Brittany  till  the  death  of 
M.  de  Vergennes,  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  whose  depart- 
ment was  given  to  him. 

Of  all  the  men  who  acted  an  important  part  in  the  Revolu- 

the  diplomatic  service,  where  he  gained  considerable  experience  of 
the  Courts  and  politics  of  Europe.  He  was  appointed  Minister  of 
Foreign  Affairs  in  February  1787;  he  followed  Necker's  example 
in  refusing  to  be  present  when  the  King  read  his  declaration  of 
the  23d  June  1789,  to  the  States-General.  He  was  consequently  dis- 
missed with  Necker  on  the  12th,  and  recalled  with  him  on  the  14th 
July. 

In  the  winter  of  1789-1790  he  joined  the  Jacobin  Club,  being  the 
first  of  the  King's  Ministers  to  take  so  radical  a  step,  but  in  June 
1791,  he  was  expelled  from  the  Club  as  a  "Traitor  who  had  sold 
himself  to  foreign  powers."  The  position  of  a  Minister  of  State, 
under  the  regime  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  became  too  useless 
and  degrading  to  be  endured  by  one  who  had  served  in  that  high 
capacity  before  the  Revolution,  and  Montmorin  resigned  on  the  20th 
November  1791.  He  still  remained  in  Paris  in  order  to  assist  the 
King  and  formed  one  of  that  small  body  of  Louis  XVI. 's  faithful 
subjects  and  friends,  who  were  constantly  calumniated  as  forming 
the  "  Austrian  Committee."  Montmorin  endeavoured  to  prosecute  one 
of  the  most  virulent  of  these  journalistic  calumniators  named  Carra, 
but  could  find  no  Magistrate  bold  enough  to  commit  a  popular  writer 
for  trial. 

On  the  10th  August  1792,  he  took  refuge  in  the  house  of  a 
washerwoman  of  the  Faubourg  Saint  Antoine,  where  he  was  dis- 
covered on  the  24th  and  after  undergoing  a  prolonged  examination 
was  remanded  to  the  Abbaye  prison,  where  both  he  and  his  cousin, 
Count  Louis  Montmorin,  were  assassinated  on  the  2nd  September. 
His  widow  and  son,  ag«l  22,  were  guillotined  on  the  10th  May  1794. 
Madame  de  Montmorin  was  convicted  of  being  the  "  widow  of  the 
villain  who  betrayed  France  and  who  had  undergone  the  terrible 
vengeance  of  the  people  (the  stock  phrase  for  the  September  Mas- 
sacres)." Her  guilt  is  proved  by  her  regular  correspondence  with 
her  husband.  This  correspondence  exists,  but  was  not  produced.  As 
Croker  justly  remarks,  "  Thus  a  widow  was  executed  because  she  had 
corresponded  with  a  husband  who  was  assassinated  before  the  Re- 
public was  founded,"  while  a  son  suffered  for  the  crime  of  his 
relationship  to  his  father. 


196  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

tion,  M.  de  Montmorin  is  perhaps  the  person  who  is  least 
known,  and  who  has  been  judged  with  the  greatest  severity. 
The  general  opinion,  with  respect  to  him,  is  such,  that  one 
cannot,  without  being  suspected  of  democracy,  or,  at  least, 
of  being  a  constitutionalist,  acknowledge  having  had  any  inti- 
macy with  him;  and  it  requires  some  degree  of  boldness  to  de- 
fend his  character.  My  connection  with  him  has  been  often 
stated  against  me  as  a  crime;  and  I  should  not  be  surprised  if 
that  opinion,  equally  unjust  and  absurd,  was  still  adhered  to 
by  some  of  those  first  enthusiasts  of  emigration,  who  have 
the  candour  to  imagine  that  there  are  no  true  royalists  in 
France,  excepting  those  who  emigrated  at  the  same  period  with 
themselves.  For  my  own  part,  I  thought  then,  and  do  still 
think,  that  it  was  my  duty,  as  a  lover  of  my  King  and  coun- 
try, not  to  abandon  them  at  a  period  when  both  were  in  such 
imminent  danger,  and  while  there  remained  any  hopes  of  my 
being  of  service  to  them.  Yet  I  do  not  take  upon  me  to 
blame  those  who  have  acted  differently;  I  only  assert,  very 
firmly,  tliat  their  attachment  to  the  King  was  not  purer  than 
mine,  notwitlistanding  my  intimacy  with  M.  de  Montmorin, 
who  was  neither  constitutionalist  nor  democrat,  but  a  true 
royalist ;  and  I  may  add,  with  truth,  that  I  know  no  person 
wlio  was  a  more  faithful  servant  to  the  King.  I  must  at  the 
same  time  acknowledge,  that  the  extreme  weakness  of  his 
character  prevented  him  from  l^eing  useful  to  his  Majesty,  in 
circumstances  that  required  much  energy;  and  it  is  probable 
that  his  fears  may  often  have  suggested  measures  more  calcu- 
lated to  increase  than  to  remedy  the  evils  with  which  the  King 
was  threatened.  This  moral  weakness  had  its  source  in  a 
sickly  constitution,  and  can  no  more  be  imputed  to  him  as  a 
crime,  llian  his  ])eing  of  a  low  stature  and  slender  frame  of 
body. 

Among  the  number  of  faults  of  which  M.   de  Montmorin 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  197 

has  been  accused,  it  would  be  easy,  if  not  entirely  to  justify, 
at  least  to  palliate  the  greater  part,  by  demonstrating  that  they 
never  proceeded  from  perfidy  or  self-interest.  I  one  day  had 
a  quarrel  with  him,  at  his  own  house,  upon  the  subject  of  a 
leport  made  by  M.  de  Freteau  in  the  first  Assembly,  in  which 
he  had  asserted,  that  at  the  Diplomatic  Committee,  held  the 
day  before  at  M.  de  Montmorin's,  that  minister  had  said, 
*'  that  the  Prince  de  Conde  and  the  Cardinal  de  Kohan,  who 
were  out  of  the  Kingdom,  were  intriguing  and  manoeuvring, 
in  order  to  raise  up  foreign  powers  against  France."  M.  de 
Montmorin,  in  answer  to  the  bitter  reproaches  I  made  on  the 
subject,  said,  with  considerable  heat,  "  How  could  you,  who 
know  me,  believe,  for  a  moment,  that  I  was  capable  of  ex- 
pressing myself  in  those  terms?  What  I  said,"  continued  M. 
de  Montmorin,  "  was  nearly  the  reverse ;  for  in  speaking  of 
the  necessity  there  was  of  repressing  the  various  excesses  which 
were  committed,  and  which  had  forced  the  Prince  of  Conde 
to  leave  the  Kingdom,  I  endeavoured  to  show,  that  it  was  of 
importance  to  employ  every  possible  means  of  engaging  that 
Prince  to  return,  because  he  was  so  highly  respected,  that  the 
idea  of  his  being  forced  to  emigrate  must  have  a  very  bad  ef- 
fect on  the  minds  of  all  the  foreign  powers,  and  would  excite 
against  France  all  those  who  were  allied  to  the  house  of  Bour- 
bon. With  regard  to  the  Cardinal  de  Eohan,"  added  he,  "  we 
should  also  endeavor  to  conciliate  him,  if  we  wish  for  a 
favourable  issue  to  our  negotiations  with  the  prince  of  the 
empire,  relative  to  their  possessions  in  x\lsace,  because  he 
might  greatly  influence  their  determinations." 

To  all  this,  I  replied  to  M.  de  Montmorin,  "  That  since 
such  was  the  case,  it  was  incumbent  on  him,  without  loss  of 
time,  to  give  a  formal  denial  to  what  M.  de  Freteau  had  said 
in  his  report,  and  address  it  in  a  letter  to  the  Assembly." 

"  I   was   thinking  of   that,"   answered   M.    de   Montmorin. 


198  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

"  But  in  case  M.  de  Freteau  has  concerted  the  report  with  the 
other  members  of  the  committee,  they  are  very  capable,  in  sup- 
port of  their  manoBuvre,  to  oppose  their  testimony  to  my  asser- 
tion, which,  though  true,  will  be  reputed  false." 

"  Write,  at  least,"  said  I,  "  to  M.  de  Freteau,  to  make  him 
retract,  or  rectify  his  report;  and  warn  him,  that  if  he  does 
not,  you  will  have  your  letter  printed  in  all  the  journals." 

He  approved  of  this  plan,  as  the  most  moderate,  and  wrote, 
the  same  day,  to  M.  de  Freteau,  who,  in  his  answer,  acknowl- 
edged that  his  report  was  erroneous;  that  it  proceeded  entirely 
from  inattention ;  that  instead  of  saying,  "  M.  de  Montmorin 
had  asserted  that  the  Prince  de  Conde  and  Cardinal  de  Eohan 
were  manoeuvring,"  &c.,  he  (M.  de  Freteau)  ought  and  in- 
tended to  have  said,  "  that  from  M.  de  Montmorin's  discourse, 
he  was  led  to  the  conjecture  that  the  Prince  of  Conde,"  &c. 

He  promised  to  have  this  error  corrected  upon  the  regis- 
ter, conformable  to  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  and  to  in- 
form his  principal  colleagues  in  the  Assembly.  M.  de  Mont- 
morin had  the  condescension  not  to  exact  more.  I  in  vain 
intreated  that  he  would  make  this  answer  and  his  letter  pub- 
lic. He  thought  it  sufficient  to  keep  them  both  in  his  pos- 
session, to  be  made  use  of  only  in  case  his  conduct  should  after- 
wards be  publicly  censured,  on  account  of  M.  Freteau's  report 
to  the  Assembly.  What  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  cir- 
cumstance in  this  affair  is,  that  M.  de  Montmorin  was  quite 
astonished  at  the  energy  which  he  thought  he  had  displayed  on 
the  occasion. 

This  trait  is  sufficient  to  show  the  timidity  of  this  minister. 
I  say  timidity,  not  cowardice;  he  was  by  no  means  a  coward. 
Xo  man  feared  death  less;  and  it  will  appear,  in  the  course  of 
*  these  Memoirs,  with  what  tranquillity  he  foresaw  and  met  his 
fate.  Nay,  he  even  braved  it,  but  in  a  manner  agreeable  to  his 
character;   namely,   by   continual   correspondences,    and   other 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  199 

concealed,  though  dangerous  measures,  for  the  King's  service, 
which  he  directed  and  paid  for  out  of  the  funds  of  his  depart- 
ment. Among  these  expenses  was  the  money  he  thought  it 
necessary  to  advance  to  certain  popular  orators,  to  counterbal- 
ance, in  some  degree,  the  furious  declamations  which  were 
daily  made  against  the  King  in  the  Jacobin  Club,  and  in 
various  other  clubs,  assemblies,  and  groups. 

When  I  represented  to  him  the  risk  that  he  ran,  by  this 
conduct,  and  the  great  danger  there  was,  that  some  of  the 
numerous  agents  which  he  employed  would  betray  him,  and 
expose  him  to  be  insulted,  or  perhaps  assassinated  by  the  popu- 
lace, he  answered,  with  great  coolness,  "  I  am  well  aware  of  the 
truth  of  what  you  represent;  but  no  personal  danger  shall  ever 
prevent  me,  while  I  remain  in  the  King's  service,  from  doing 
every  thing  that  I  think  may  be  of  utility  to  his  Majesty." 
This  way  of  thinking  was  very  generous,  no  doubt;  but  the 
means  he  used  were  in  my  opinion  infinitely  less  useful  for  the 
attaining  the  object  he  had  in  view,  than  many  vigorous  meas- 
ures which  he  might  have  suggested  to  his  Majesty,  if  he  had 
possessed  more  energy  of  character,  and  less  of  that  passive 
courage,  which  can  only  do  honour  to  the  close  of  life,  be- 
cause it  enables  us  to  die  with  firmness. 

M.  de  Montmorin  has  been  blamed  for  living  in  a  kind  of 
intimacy  with  certain  deputies  of  the  left.  This,  however, 
I  have  always  considered  as  one  of  the  strongest  and  most 
painful  marks  of  his  attachment  to  his  Majesty.  I  knew  that 
he  abhorred  their  opinions,  and  despised  their  characters,  and 
that  he  lived  in  that  manner  with  them,  in  the  sole  view  of 
bringing  them  over  to  his  way  of  thinking.  These  measures 
of  weakness  and  duplicity  were  employed  by  the  King's  con- 
sent, who  trusted  too  much  to  them.  Perhaps  they  might  re- 
tard some  pernicious  decrees,  and  occasion  others  to  be  re- 
jected; but  the  most  certain  and  apparent  effect  was  to  make 


200  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

M.  de  Montmorin  be  looked  upon  as  a  zealous  partisan  of  the 
Revolution,  and  of  its  guilty  authors.  And  thus,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  his  character,  he  obtained  uncertain  advantages,  by  far 
too  inconsiderable  to  be  purchased  at  so  dear  a  rate. 

It  is  not  then  astonishing,  that  the  conduct  of  this  min- 
ister has  appeared  criminal,  or  at  least  suspicious,  to  every  per- 
son who  was  ignorant  to  what  degree  he  was  devoted  to  the 
King,  and  that  not  being  able  to  serve  him  by  firmness,  be- 
cause he  had  none,  he  endeavoured  to  assist  him  by  every 
method  which  his  weakness  permitted  him  to  employ. 

But  liad  M.  de  Montmorin  been  called  to  the  ministry  in 
less  turbulent  times,  or  had  he  been  associated  with  ministers 
of  greater  vigor  and  of  more  upright  intentions,  the  incon- 
veniences arising  from  his  timidity  would  have  been  fully  com- 
pensated, in  council,  by  his  acquired  knowledge,  his  fidelity, 
and  the  precise  justness  of  his  understanding. 

M.  de  Fleurieu,''  who  succeeded  M.  de  la  Luzerne  in  the 

6  Charles  Pierre  Claret  de  Fleurieu,  a  distinguished  naval  officer, 
author  and  cartographer,  was  appointed  Minister  of  Marine  on  the 
27th  October  1790.  He  found  the  spirit  of  insubordination  and  of 
open  mutiny  raging  in  every  branch  of  the  Navy ;  the  officers  driven 
to  emigration  to  save  their  lives,  and  the  work  of  shipbuilding,  and 
of  fortifying  the  posts  at  a  complete  standstill.  To  make  matters 
worse  he  was  denounced  by  one  after  another  of  his  subordinates, 
whose  complaints  met  with  boundless  sympathy  from  the  Naval  Com- 
mittee of  the  Constituent  Assembly,  while  he  himself  was  treated 
with  contumely  and  insult.  After  several  months  of  useless  en- 
deavour to  stem  the  torrent  of  revolt,  Fleurieu  resigned  his  office  on 
the  17th  May  1791.  In  his  letter  to  the  King  on  this  occasion  he 
wrote :  "  If  it  were  merely  a  question  of  sacrifice  on  my  part,  my 
devotion  to  your  Majesty  and  my  desire  to  promote  the  public  welfare 
would  make  such  sacrifices  light  and  easy;  but  when,  after  every 
effort,  I  find  the  means  at  my  disposal  for  restoring  order,  or  carry- 
ing on  the  business  of  the  Navy,  absolutely  inefficient,  I  have  no 
option  but  to  resign  my  post." 

On  the  18th  April  1792,  Louis  XVI.  announced  to  the  Legislative 
Assembly  that  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution  he  had  selected 
Fleurieu  as  the  Tutor  to  his  son  "  on  account  of  his  probity,  intel- 
lectual attainments  and  devotion  to  the  Constitution." 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  201 

department  of  the  marine,  may  also  be  quoted  in  the  number 
of  ministers  who  had  the  same  kind  of  weakness;  with  this 
difference,  however,  that  his  was  never  prejudicial  to  anybody 
but  to  himself,  because  he  had  the  prudence  to  confine  himself 
entirely  to  the  details  of  the  Marine  and  the  Colonies ;  and  the 
King,  who  greatly  esteemed  his  virtues,  never  employed  him 
(as  he  did  M.  de  Montmorin)  in  any  affair  foreign  to  his  de- 
partment. M.  de  Fleurieu,  whom  no  one,  certainly,  respects 
more  than  I  do,  joined  to  that  timid  modesty,  which  often 
accompanies  the  greatest  merit,  the  candour  and  confiding 
simplicity  which  often  renders  honest  men  the  dupes  of  de- 
signing knaves ;  and  this  he  experienced  in  a  manner  the  most 
revolting.  One  of  his  clerks,  called  Bonjour,  who  was  at- 
tached and  sold  to  the  Jacobin  Club,  being  irritated  because  the 
ancient  Intendants  of  the  marine,  who  had  been  suppressed 
by  a  decree,  still  preserved  the  same  authority  in  the  office, 
and  the  same  superiority  over  the  clerks,  by  the  direction  of 
M,  de  Fleurieu,  had  the  baseness  to  denounce  that  minister 
to  the  Assembly  as  an  enemy  to  the  Constitution  who  was  act- 
ing in  opposition  to  the  decrees  of  the  Assembly.  As  the  foun- 
dation of  this  denunciation,  he  made  use  of  an  order  for  the 
payment  of  the  salaries  of  the  office,  signed  by  M.  de  Fleurieu, 

There  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  Robespierre  was  also  a  can- 
didate for  the  part  of  Tutor  to  the  Dauphin;  the  idea  seems  too 
startling  to  be  credible,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  Robespierre's 
reputation  at  this  time  was  totally  different  from  that  which  he 
acquired  during  the  Terror.  He  was  known  as  an  advanced  thinker, 
of  high  character  and  puritanic  simplicity  of  life.  In  any  case,  the 
Legislative  Assembly  returned  no  answer  to  the  King  and  Fleurieu 
had  hardly  time  to  enter  upon  his  duties,  before  the  Monarchy  was 
swept  away,  on  the  10th  August.  Though  imprisoned  for  several 
months  in  1793-94  Fleurieu  survived  the  Terror.  During  the  Con- 
sulate and  Empire,  he  enjoyed  the  high  esteem  of  Napoleon,  who 
promoted  him  to  one  high  post  of  honour  after  another.  Councillor  of 
State,   Count,   Senator  and   finally  Governor  of  the  Tuileries. 

He  died  at  the  age  of  72,  in  August  1810. 


202  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

but  written  by  himself  for  the  purpose.  In  inserting  the  sup- 
pressed Intendants  in  this  order,  instead  of  distinguishing 
them  simply  by  their  names,  he  had  the  perfidy  to  add  their 
ancient  titles,  which  had  been  prohibited  by  a  decree  of  the 
Assembly,  although  the  minister  was  permitted  to  employ 
them  as  he  pleased  in  his  office.  This  order,  thus  arranged, 
being  presented  by  Bonjour  to  be  signed,  with  several  others, 
M.  de  Fleurieu,  according  to  custom,  only  looked  at  the  title 
and  the  sum  total,  and  signed  it  without  taking  time  to  read 
over  the  names.  His  conduct  had  nothing  in  it  reprehensi- 
ble; and  the  infamous  denunciation  of  Bonjour  must  have  re- 
coiled upon  himself,  rendered  him  infamous,  and  he  would 
have  lost  his  place,  as  being  guilty  of  an  abuse  of  confidence, 
and  of  a  voluntary  and  premeditated  infringement  of  the  de- 
crees of  the  Assembly;  but  M.  de  Fleurieu,  satisfied  with  hav- 
ing justified  himself,  and  apprehensive  of  a  quarrel  with  the 
Jacobins,  if  he  turned  ofl^  Bonjour,  left  him  in  the  office,  and 
gave  in  his  own  resignation,  to  avoid  the  disgust  of  doing 
business  with  such  a  wretch. 

The  deputies  from  Brittany  had  reiterated  their  endeav- 
ours for  my  being  named  Garde  des  SceauXj  upon  the  retreat 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Bordeaux;  and  they  now  made  a  new 
attempt  to  have  me  made  Minister  of  Marine,  in  the  place  of 
M.  de  Fleurieu.  This  was  proposed  to  me  by  the  King, 
through  M.  de  Montmorin;  but  I  begged  of  him  to  intreat  his 
Majesty  to  dispense  with  my  accepting  it.  The  motives  wliicli 
1  urged  for  refusing  were,  not  only  my  absolute  ignorance  of 
affairs  relating  to  the  Department  of  Marine,  but  also  the 
manner  in  which  the  council  was  then  composed,  and  the  groat 
difficulty  which  the  King  must  have  found  to  have  composed 
it  of  unexceptionable  members  at  a  period  when,  even  in  the 
foi-mation  of  his  Cabinet  Council,  he  was  under  a  necessity  to 
pay  some  regard  to  the  sentiments  of  the  cote  gauche  of  the 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  203 

Assembly  and  the  Jacobins;  for  their  opinion  passed  for  the 
opinion  of  the  nation.  M.  de  Montmorin,  after  having  in  vain 
combated  the  motives  of  my  refusal,  asked  me  what  I  thought 
of  M.  Thevenard,  commanding  the  naval  fort  of  L'Orient, 
where  I  had  frequently  seen  him  during  the  month  which  I 
passed  there  in  1784.  I  said,  that  the  place  he  occupied,  and 
of  which  he  did  the  business  very  well,  was  perhaps  the  only 
situation  he  was  fit  for;  and  that  it  would  be  doing  him  the 
worst  service  in  the  world,  to  take  it  from  him,  but  above  all, 
to  call  him  to  the  Ministry,  because  I  was  convinced  that  he 
would  only  expose  himself,  and  could  not  remain  in  place  two 
months. 

The  great  difficulty  of  finding  a  proper  person,  determined 
the  King,  at  this  particular  time,  to  name  M.  Thevenard  ^ 
Minister  of  the  Marine. 

How  much  reason  had  I  to  felicitate  myself,  six  weeks  after, 
for  having  avoided  by  my  refusal,  the  critical  and  unfore- 
seen situation  into  which  the  Ministers  were  thrown,  by  the 
King's  departure  for  Varennes,  21-23  June,  1791!  During 
the  time  of  his  absence,  and  even  after  his  return,  from  the  end 
of  June  till  the  middle  of  September,  while  he  was  confined  to 

7  Antoine  Jean  Marie  Thevenard,  an  officer  in  the  French  Navy 
and  one  of  the  few  officers  who  accepted  the  new  Constitution  of  the 
Navy,  was  nominated  to  the  Ministry  of  the  Marine  on  the  16th  May 
1791.  He  remained  in  office  for  a  few  months  only,  being  succeeded 
by  Bertrand  de  Moleville,  in  the  following  September.  He  was  then 
appointed  to  the  command  of  the  post  of  Brest,  and  shortly  after- 
wards of  L'Orient  with  the  rank  of  Vice-Admiral.  From  L'Orient 
he  wrote  to  the  Legislative  Assembly  announcing  that  the  Decree 
suspending  the  King  after  the  10th  August  had  been  received  with 
enthusiasm  in  the  port  which  he  commanded. 

The  next  year  he  passed  to  the  command  of  Rochefort,  where  he 
remained  until  1801,  when  he  was  appointed  by  the  First  Consul 
Maritime  Prefect  of  Toulon. 

On  the  9th  January  1810,  he  was  created  a  Count  and  shortly 
afterwards  received  a  seat  in  the  Senate.  In  1814  Louis  XVIII.  made 
him  a  Peer.     Thevenard  died  at  the  age  of  81,  in  FoI)ruarv,  181,5. 


204  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

the  Tuileries  like  a  prisoner,  and  deprived  of  all  his  regal 
functions,  the  Ministers  continued  in  the  exercise  of  their  of- 
fices, as  if  his  Majesty  had  been  at  liberty  and  in  power.  They 
no  doubt  imagined  that  they  would  be  more  useful  to  the 
King  and  Kingdom,  by  acting  so,  than  by  giving  in  their  resig- 
nations; but  assuredly  their  conduct,  on  this  occasion,  would 
not  have  been  mine.  No  consideration  would  have  induced  me 
to  consent  to  become  one  of  the  chief  agents,  one  of  the  first 
accomplices  of  a  monstrous  government,  in  which  the  King, 
unworthily  outraged,  and  imprisoned  in  his  own  palace,  had 
not,  nor  could  have,  any  part.  The  Ministers  were  perhaps 
too  much  terrified  by  the  menaces  which  were  made,  in  case 
of  their  refusal,  of  immediately  establishing  a  republic,  and 
were  not  aware  of  the  more  certain  danger  of  preparing  and 
familiarising  the  public  mind  with  the  possibility  of  such  an 
event,  by  exhibiting  to  the  people's  view,  during  three  months, 
the  revolting  and  absurd  spectacle  of  a  monarchy  without  a 
King.  It  is  very  probable  that  this  fatal  example  gave  rise 
to  the  idea,  which  was  four  years  afterwards  adopted,  of  replac- 
ing the  constitutional  King  of  1791,  by  a  Directory  of  five 
persons. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Retreat  of  M.  Thevenard. —  The  King  again  proposes  that  I  should 
enter  into  the  administration. —  I  accept. —  Sentiments  of  the 
King  and  Queen  upon  tlie  Constitution. —  A  letter  from  me  to 
the  Assembly. —  Conference  with  M.  Thevenard. —  Opinion  of  the 
different  parties,  with  respect  to  my  nomination. —  111  disposition 
of  the  Assembly  manifested  in  the  very  first  sitting. —  Prudent 
conduct  of  the  King. —  The  Ministers  agree  among  themselves  to 
have  no  communication  with  the  committees,  and  always  to  cor- 
respond directly  with  the  Assembly. —  Proclamation  addressed 
to  the  emigrant  nobility. —  Letters  from  the  Ministers  of  War 
and  Marine  to  the  officers,  to  engage  them  to  return  to  the 
Kingdom. 

The  new  Constitution  was  now  agreed  to.  The  King  had 
no  other  alternative  but  to  accept  it  as  it  was  presented  to 
him,  without  alteration  or  restriction,  or  to  abdicate  the 
Crown ;  by  accepting,  he  regained  not  the  essential  prerogatives, 
but  only  the  vain  title  of  a  King,  deprived  of  power,  but  with 
the  enjoyment  of  his  civil  list,  and  the  cessation  of  the  humili- 
ating rigours  and  exterior  signs  of  his  captivity.  The  pre- 
tended Constitutional  Assembly  being  near  the  period  affixed 
by  itself  for  its  termination,  was  to  be  replaced  by  the  pre- 
tended legislative  body,  invested  with  the  powers  which  the 
constitutional  act  had  appointed;  but  with  so  little  precision, 
that  its  ill  ascertained  limits  might  be  infringed  without  any 
obstacle,  for  there  existed  no  means  of  resisting  any  attack 
upon  it,  except  the  vague  obligation  imposed  upon  the  King, 
of  employing  all  the  power  which  was  confided  in  him  to  main- 
tain the  Constitution,  But  to  employ  this  power  against  the 
attacks  of  the  legislative  body  would  have  re(]nired  great  energy 
in  the  King,  and  the  support  of  a  Council  composed  of  Min- 


206  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

isters  who  possessed  sufficient  diligence,  fidelity,  and  intre- 
pidity, to  brave  all  dangers  in  order  to  preserve  the  Monarchy ; 
but  unfortunately  there  were  few  men,  I  will  not  say  in  the 
Council  only,  but  in  all  France,  who  possessed  those  qualities, 
with  which  I  still  believe  it  would  have  been  possible  to  re- 
strain the  violences  of  the  Assembly,  and  the  want  of  which 
brought  all  to  ruin.  It  was  in  these  critical  circumstances  that 
M.  Thevenard,  who  had  but  too  well  justified  my  opinion  of 
him,  gave  in  his  resignation. 

On  the  2oth  of  September,  the  King  again  offered  to  me, 
through  M.  de  Montmorin,  the  office  of  Minister  of  the  Marine ; 
and  in  terms  so  pressing,  that  I  was  at  first  as  much  sur- 
prised as  embarrassed.  However,  as  the  events  which  fol- 
lowed my  first  refusal  fortified  the  motives  upon  which  it 
was  founded,  I  persisted  in  intreating  M.  de  Montmorin  (as 
the  greatest  proof  of  friendship  he  could  give  me)  that  he 
would  do  every  thing  in  his  power  to  influence  the  King  to 
cast  his  eyes  on  some  other  person.  The  King  wrote  to  me 
two  days  after,  and  enforced  what  M.  de  Montmorin  had  said. 
His  Majesty  ended  his  letter  with  the  following  sentence:  "  In 
a  word,  I  am  confident  that  your  services  would  be  useful  to 
me  and  to  the  State.  I  know  your  attachment  to  me,  and  ex- 
pect, in  the  present  emergency,  that  you  will  give  me  this  proof 
of  your  zeal  and  obedience." 

In  my  answer  to  this  letter,  I  persevered  in  my  former  opin- 
ion, founding  my  repeated  refusal  on  the  unjust  but  very 
universal  prejudice  that  existed  against  all  the  ancient  In- 
tendants  of  provinces,  which  would  render  me  suspected  of 
being  an  enemy  to  the  new  order  of  things,  with  whatever 
prudence  and  moderation  I  might  act. 

The  King,  after  having  read  my  letter,  said  to  M.  de  Mont- 
morin, wlio  had  delivered  it :  "  But  ask  M.  Bertrand  how  I 
am  to  find  Ministers,  and  what  is  to  become  of  me,  if  per- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  207 

sons  such  as  he,  who  profess  themselves  attached  to  me,  re- 
fuse their  services,  and  abandon  me  ?  "  I  was  greatly  moved 
and  overcome  by  words  so  touching;  and  after  the  assurances 
given  me  by  M.  de  Montmorin,  that  great  changes  were  going 
to  take  place  in  the  Council,  and  that  I  should  be  satisfied 
with  the  new  Ministers,  I  no  longer  hesitated  to  answer  that  I 
was  at  the  King's  command ;  but  I  requested  that  his  Majesty 
would  not  make  my  nomination  public,  until  he  granted  me 
an  audience.  The  next  day,  which  was  the  1st  of  October, 
M.  de  Lessart  came  to  me  from  the  King,  and  conducted  me 
into  his  apartment. 

As  it  was  the  first  time  that  I  had  ever  had  the  honour  of 
speaking  to  his  Majesty,  on  finding  myself  tete-a-tete  with 
him,  I  was  so  overwhelmed  with  timidity,  that  if  it  had  been 
my  part  to  speak  first,  I  should  not  have  been  able  to  pro- 
nounce a  sentence.  But  I  acquired  courage,  on  observing  that 
the  King  was  more  embarrassed  than  myself.  He  stammered 
out  a  few  words  without  connection,  but  at  last  recovered 
himself,  on  seeing  me  more  at  my  ease,  and  our  conversation 
soon  became  interesting. 

After  some  general  observations  upon  the  present  difficult 
and  perplexed  state  of  public  affairs,  the  King  said  to  me, 
"  Well,  have  you  any  farther  objections  ?  " 

"  Xo,  Sire,"  answered  I.  "  The  desire  of  obeying  and  pleas- 
ing your  Majesty,  is  the  only  sentiment  I  feel.  But  that  I 
may  know  whether  it  will  be  in  my  power  to  serve  you  with 
utility,  I  liope  your  Majesty  will  have  the  condescension  to 
inform  me  of  your  sentiments  respecting  the  new  Constitution, 
and  the  conduct  you  expect  from  your  Ministers  regarding  it.'' 

"That  is  but  just,"  said  the  King.  "This,  then,  is  what 
I  think.  T  am  far  from  regarding  this  Constitution  as  a  clief 
d'opurre.  I  believe  there  are  great  faults  in  it;  and  that  if 
I  had  been  allowed  to  state  my  observations  upon  it,  some  ad- 


208  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

vantageous  alterations  might  have  been  adopted.  But  of  this 
there  is  no  question  at  present;  I  have  sworn  to  maintain 
it,  such  as  it  is,  and  I  am  determined,  as  I  ought,  to  be  strictly 
faithful  to  my  oath ;  for  it  is  my  opinion,  that  an  exact  execu- 
tion of  the  Constitution  is  the  best  means  of  making  it  thor- 
oughly known  to  the  nation,  who  will  then  perceive  the  changes 
proper  to  be  made.  I  have  not,  and  I  cannot,  have  another 
plan  than  this.  I  certainly  shall  not  recede  from  it;  and  I 
wish  my  Ministers  to  conform  to  the  same." 

To  this  I  answered,  "  Your  plan  appears  to  me  extremely 
wise.  Sire.  I  feel  myself  capable  of  fulfilling  it,  and  I  take 
the  engagement  to  do  so.  I  have  not  so  sufficiently  examined 
the  Constitution,  either  in  general,  or  in  its  particular  branches, 
to  have  a  decided  and  fixed  opinion  respecting  its  practica- 
bility, nor  shall  I  form  one,  until  experience  has  more  en- 
lightened the  nation  and  myself.  My  present  resolution  is, 
never  to  deviate  from  what  it  prescribes.  But  may  I  be  per- 
mitted to  ask,  if  the  Queen's  way  of  thinking  on  this  subject 
is  conformable  to  that  of  your  Majesty  ?  " 

"  Yes,  perfectly.     She  will  tell  you  so  herself." 

A  moment  after,  I  went  to  the  Queen's  apartment,  who,  after 
assuring  me  with  great  goodness,  that  she  was  as  sensible  as 
the  King  of  the  obligations  I  had  laid  them  under  by  accepting 
a  part  in  the  administration  in  circumstances  so  difficult, 
she  added  these  words :  "  The  King  has  informed  you  of 
his  intentions  relative  to  the  Constitution.  Don't  you  think, 
that  the  only  plan  he  has  to  follow,  is  to  adhere  to  his  oath  ?  " 

"  Yes,  certainly,  Madame,"  answered  I. 

"  Well,  be  assured,"  rejoined  she,  "  that  nothing  shall  make 
us  alter  our  resolution.  Allans;  be  of  good  courage,  M,  Ber- 
trand.  With  a  little  patience,  firmness,  and  consistency  of 
conduct,  T  hope  you  will  find  that  all  is  not  yet  lost." 

I  was  named  Minister  the  1st  of  October,  and  next  day  took 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  209 

my  oath  to  the  King.  According  to  custom,  I  announced  my 
nomination  by  a  letter  to  the  Assembly.  Many  remarks  were 
made,  but  without  any  apparent  displeasure,  on  my  not  hav- 
ing imitated  my  predecessors,  by  flattering  the  Assembly,  and 
praising  the  Constitution,  I  simply  expressed  in  my  letter, 
"that  having  sworn  to  the  King  to  be  faithful  to  the  Con- 
stitution, I  engaged  myself  to  the  Assembly  to  adhere  literally 
to  my  oath,  and  promote  the  execution  of  the  Constitution  by 
every  means  within  my  sphere." 

M.  Thevenard  was  much  more  impatient  to  be  out  of  the 
Ministry  than  I  was  to  enter  it.  When  he  heard  of  my  first 
refusal  to  replace  him,  imagining  that  it  proceeded  from  my 
inexperience  in  maritime  affairs,  he  sent  me  word  that  he 
would  give  me  every  necessary  instruction;  and  when  he  after- 
wards heard  of  my  accepting,  he  was  persuaded  that  it  was  his 
offer  alone  that  had  overcome  all  my  objections  and  difficulties. 
Two  days  after  my  instalment,  he  demanded  a  rendezvous,  that 
he  might  fulfil  his  promise.  Although  I  did  not  expect  any 
very  useful  information  from  him,  yet  out  of  regard  to  the 
integrity  of  the  man,  and  goodness  of  his  intentions,  I  ap- 
pointed to  meet  him  on  that  same  day.  He  came  loaded  with 
a  port-folio,  which  I  supposed  was  to  be  given  to  me,  as  the 
quintessence  of  all  that  was  necessary  to  be  known  respecting 
the  administration  of  the  Marine  and  the  Colonies.  However, 
he  only  took  a  small  packet  out  of  it,  upon  which  there  were 
five  or  six  seals,  and  which,  ever  since  the  administration  of 
the  Marechal  de  Castries,  had  been  transmitted,  in  succession, 
to  the  Ministers  of  Marine.  It  was  inscribed,  "  to  he  opened 
only  in  time  of  war."  M.  Thevenard  told  me,  when  he  put  it 
into  my  hands,  that  he  believed  it  contained  the  secret  of  a 
method  contrived  by  M.  de  Bellegarde,  for  setting  the  enemy's 
ships  on  fire.  He  then  seated  himself  at  my  bureau,  and  spoke 
to  me  as  follows; 
Vol.  1—14 


210  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

"  Well,  you  have  obtained  a  very  advantageous,  agreeable 
appointment,  and  I  leave  it  to  you  in  an  excellent  condition. 
You  will  find  no  great  difficulty  in  the  exercise  of  it;  only  the 
occasional  annoyances  of  the  Assembly;  a  war  of  pens.  You 
will  extricate  yourself  better  than  I  could.  I  was  in  bad 
health.  But  at  present  the  worst  is  over.  This  new  Assem- 
bly ^  will  be  more  tractable  than  the  other.  Your  office  is 
well  composed.  You  have  excellent  first  clerks,  diligent, 
worthy  men;  very  zealous,  that  is  the  main  point.  I  must 
make  you  acquainted  with  them.  You  have,  in  the  first  place, 
M.  de  Malezieu,  who  has  the  department  of  officers,  the  nomi- 
nation to  employments,  &c.  But  this  must  be  written  down, 
for  it  is  of  great  importance."  Accordingly  he  gave  himself 
the  trouble  of  writing  every  minute  article  relative  to  M.  de 
Malezieu's  department,  exactly  as  it  is  printed  in  the  Eoyal 
Almanack.  With  equal  precision  he  wrote  down  all  that 
belonged  to  the  departments  of  the  other  first  clerks,  each  of 
whom  was  successively  called  in  as  the  article  which  concerned 
him  was  being  written ;  and  they  were  all  presented  to  me  with 
such  exaggerated  encomiums  as  greatly  distressed  their  modesty. 
When  he  came  to  the  article  of  the  clerk  Bon  jour,  I  could  not 
help  expressing  surprise,  on  hearing  him  praise  that  knave, 
after  his  infamous  conduct  to  M.  de  Fleurieu,  the  late  Minister 
of  the  Marine. 

"  I  own,"  answered  he,  "  that  I  never  would  take  part  in  any 
quarrel.  I  always  avoided  speaking  of  it.  Bonjour  is  pro- 
tected by  the  Jacobins  —  by  the  Assembly.  What  could  I  do  ? 
His  dispute  with  Fleurieu  was  no  concern  of  mine.     The  man 

1  "  This  new  Assembly  "  was  the  Legislative  Assembly  which  began 
its  sessions  on  the  1st  October  1789.  Thevenard's  remark  that  this 
Assembly  would  prove  more  tractable  than  its  predecessors,  is  a  curi- 
ous instance  of  the  erroneous  judgments  formed  by  contemporaries. 

It  proved,  of  course,  far  more  intractable  in  every  respect  than 
the   Constituent   Assembly. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  211 

is  assiduous,  very  intelligent.  He  does  his  business,  and  tliat 
was  all  I  wanted.'* 

"  But  how,''  said  I,  "  could  you  have  the  least  confidence  in 
a  person  who  was  first  capable  of  drawing  up  a  paper  himself, 
and  after  he  had  got  M.  de  Fleurieu  to  sign  it,  with  a  view  to 
ruin  him,  lay  the  whole  before  the  National  Assembly  ?  " 

"I  have  already  told  you,"  answered  he,  "that  I  never 
investigated  that  affair." 

"  But  were  you  not  afraid,"  said  I,  "  that  he  would  play  you 
a  similar  trick  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,"  answered  he ;  "I  took  care  of  that.  Besides,  I 
had  a  manner  of  living  with  my  clerks,  which  attached  them 
so  much,  that  they  never  could  think  of  injuring  me.  I  al- 
ways treated  them  like  friends ;  and  in  the  morning,  when  they 
came  to  do  business  with  me,  my  method  was  to  order  a  bottle 
of  good  wine;  and  so  we  began  by  taking  a  comfortable  break- 
fast together.  You  cannot  imagine  what  a  good  effect  this 
had.     I  advise  you  to  do  the  same." 

"  I  believe  it  is  a  very  good  method,"  said  I,  "  but  it  will 
not  do  for  me,  because  I  never  breakfast.  I  must  make  up  for 
this,  by  sometimes  inviting  them  to  dinner." 

"  You  will  do  well  to  do  so,"  answered  he ;  "  and  I  advise 
you  to  reflect  seriously  on  the  manner  you  are  to  behave  to 
Bonjour.     He  is  a  dangerous  man,  be  assured  of  that." 

"We  shall  see,"  answered  I. 

"  These,  sir,"  resumed  he,  "  are  the  hints  which  I  thought 
it  essential  to -give  to  you.  With  regard  to  less  important  cir- 
cumstances respecting  your  department,  your  first  clerks  can 
inform  you  of  these  much  better  than  I  can;  they  are  all  very 
intelligent." 

I  expressed  my  gratitude  for  the  service  he  had  rendered 
me,  and  we  terminated  our  conversation,  which  lasted  two 
hours,  including  the  introduction  of  the  clerks. 


212  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

The  public  was  then  very  attentive  to  the  choice  of  the 
Ministers,  because,  from  their  character,  their  known  prin- 
ciples, and  their  former  conduct,  an  idea,  more  or  less  just, 
might  be  formed  of  the  King's  sentiments  and  intentions. 
My  nomination  occasioned  great  speculation,  as,  since  the  open- 
ing of  the  first  Assembly,  I  had  acted  no  part,  nor  figured  in 
any  party.  Those  who  knew  my  intimacy  with  M.  de  Mont- 
morin,  and  who  knew  that  I  had  regularly  assisted  at  the 
assemblies  of  the  section,  believed  that  I  was  a  Constitution- 
alist; and  those  who  were  informed  of  the  zeal  with  which  I 
had  supported  the  interests  of  the  people  in  Brittany,  and 
the  steps  which  the  deputies  of  that  province  had  taken  to 
have  me  nominated  to  the  Ministry,  believed  me  to  be  a  Jaco- 
bin. Others,  from  my  birth,  and  the  offices  I  had  held,  sus- 
pected me  of  aristocracy;  while  the  most  moderate  aristocrats 
condemned  me  for  taking  any  part  in  the  administration,  after 
a  Constitution  which  they  disapproved  of  was  accepted.  The 
principal  journalists  for  some  time  contributed  to  keep  up 
this  diversity  of  opinion.  The  Gazette  of  Paris,  which  was 
written  by  Durofoi,  and  the  paper  entitled  I'Ami  du  Eoi,  by 
the  Abbe  Eoyou,  were  full  of  sarcasms  upon  my  nomination. 
Brissot  published  my  eulogium  in  the  Patriote  Frangois;  but 
Condorcet,  more  circumspect,  did  not  mention  me  in  the 
Chronique  de  Paris. 

The  Legislative  Assembly  manifested,  in  the  first  sitting, 
the  greatest  desire  to  contest  the  honours  and  prerogatives 
which  the  Constitution  and  the  preceding  Assembly  had  left 
to  the  King.  On  the  second  day  it  was  decreed,  that  when  the 
King  should  come  to  the  opening  of  the  Assembly,  the  Pres- 
ident should  place  himself  on  a  level,  and  on  an  equal  chair 
with  his  Majesty.  This  excited  a  general  indignation  against 
tbe  Assembly ;  and  although  the  Constitution  had  fixed  noth- 
ing with   respect  to  the  King  and  the  President's  chairs,  as 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  213 

the  former  Assembly  had  never  contested  giving  the  King  the 
most  honourable  place,  this  insolent  pretension  of  the  new 
deputies  was  highly  disapproved  of.  It  was  still  thought 
proper  that  the  King  should  be  honoured,  and  it  was  unan- 
imously wished  that  he  should,  upon  this  occasion,  firmly 
assert  the  dignity  which  belonged  to  him.  The  affair  being 
discussed  in  Council,  the  King  found  a  means,  in  the  Con- 
stitution, of  eluding  the  intended  humiliation,  by  not  going 
to  the  Assembly.  In  reality,  the  Constitution  did  not  oblige 
him  to  open  the  session  in  person,  or  to  go  to  the  Assembly 
upon  any  occasion.  The  King  preferred  this  to  more  vigorous 
measures,  which  were  ever  repugnant  to  his  character. 

The  Assembly  being  informed  of  the  King's  determination, 
was  now  sensible,  that  in  endeavouring  to  degrade  him,  it  had 
injured  itself  in  the  public  opinion.  These  considerations 
determined  them  to  repeal  the  decree,  and  the  King  then  con- 
sented to  go  in  person  to  the  opening  of  the  Assembly. 

By  this  decree  of  the  5th  of  October  1791,  it  was  ordained, 
that  as  often  as  the  King  went  to  the  Assembly,  he  should 
place  himself  in  an  arm-chair,  upon  the  left  hand  of  the 
President,  exactly  alike,  and  on  the  same  level  with  that  in 
which  the  President  himself  sat.  By  another  article  of  the 
same  decree,  when  the  President  or  any  other  deputy  ad- 
dressed the  King,  it  was  to  be  done  by  the  new  appellation  of 
King  of  the  French.  The  same  was  to  be  used  in  all  mes- 
sages to  his  Majesty.  This  decree  was  repealed  the  very  next 
day,  after  long  and  warm  debates. 

The  unquiet  and  turbulent  disposition  which  this  Assembly 
displayed  sufficiently  warned  the  Ministers  to  keep  themselves 
upon  their  guard,  to  study  the  Constitution,  and  to  adhere 
to  it  strictly;  that  unfortunately  being  the  only  defense  they 
had  against  the  various  attacks  they  were  likely  to  meet  with. 
Several  of  the  Ministers  having  been  injured  by  their  corre- 


214'  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

spondence  with  and  attendance  upon  the  Committees  of  the 
first  Assembly,  came  to  a  determination,  and  with  the  King's 
approbation,  never  to  correspond  with  the  committees,  but 
always  with  the  Assembly  itself;  which,  indeed,  was  appointed 
by  the  Constitution,  there  being  no  mention  made  of  com- 
mittees. 

The  emigration  being  at  this  time  considerable,  and  becom- 
ing every  day  more  and  more  so,  was  one  of  the  chief  objects 
of  the  discontent  and  murmurs  of  the  people.  The  King,  who 
but  too  well  foresaw  the  fatal  consequences  it  would  have, 
caused  a  proclamation  to  be  published,  recalling  all  gentlemen 
who  had  gone  out  of  the  Kingdom,  and  tending  to  retain  those 
who  were  inclined  to  emigrate.  He  at  the  same  time  ordered 
the  Ministers  of  War  and  the  Marine,  to  write  a  circular  letter 
to  the  same  effect,  to  the  officers  of  their  department.  This 
measure  produced  an  impression  in  favour  of  the  King  upon 
the  minds  of  the  people;  but  it  was  attended  with  this  incon- 
venience, that  it  suggested  to  the  Assembly,  who  were  then  in 
discredit,  the  means  of  re-instating  themselves  in  the  public 
favour;  and  they  succeeded,  by  a  violent  decree  against  emi- 
gration. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Promotions  under  the  administration  of  M.  Thevenard. —  Duke  of 
Orleans  appointed  admiral. —  Motives  of  this  appointment. — 
Projected  changes  in  the  ministry. —  Resignation  of  M.  de  Mont- 
morin. —  Appointment  of  M.  de  Moustier  to  his  place. —  After- 
wards retracted. —  Motives. —  Messrs.  de  S6gur  and  Barthelemi 
refuse  the  department  of  foreign  affairs. —  M.  de  Lessart  ap- 
pointed.—  Retreat  of  M.  Duportail,  war  minister. —  Intrigues  to 
procure  the  nomination  of  M.  de  Narbonne  to  that  place. —  The 
conduct  of  that  minister. —  Singular  proposal  he  made  to  the 
Queen. —  My  first  misunderstanding  with  the  Assembly. —  Result. 
— ^Decree  against  the  emigrants. —  The  King  refuses  his  sanction. 
—  Message  from  the  King,  carried  by  all  the  ministers. 

M.  Theyenaed,  about  a  fortnight  before  he  resigned,  made 
a  general  promotion  in  the  marine,  conformable  to  the  new 
organization  decreed  by  the  Assembly;  and  although  this  pro- 
motion had  not  been  officially  declared,  yet  the  most  material 
articles,  particularly  the  very  remarkable  promotion  of  the 
Duke  of  Orleans,  was  known  to  the  public,  therefore  it  was 
not  in  my  power  to  make  any  alteration;  and  in  spite  of  my 
extreme  repugnance  to  many,  I  was  under  the  necessity  of 
signing  all  the  letters  addressed  to  the  officers  included  in 
that  promotion.  All  that  I  could  do,  was  by  an  alteration  in 
the  expression  of  the  letter,  to  evince  that  the  promotion  had 
been  decided  on  before  my  appointment  to  the  administration. 
M.  Thevenard  had  hurried  this  affair,  because  he  believed,  as 
he  said  to  me,  that  the  nomination  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
to  the  rank  of  Admiral  would  insure  the  King  a  sufficient 
degree  of  popularity  to  enable  him  to  keep  the  new  Assembly 
in  proper  bounds. 


216  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

I  was  informed  by  M.  de  Montmorin,  a  few  days  after  I 
entered  into  the  Ministry,  that  the  changes  which  the  King 
intended  in  the  Council  consisted  of,  first,  the  nomination 
of  M.  de  Moustier  ^  to  the  department  of  Foreign  Affairs ; 
secondly,  the  dismission  of  M.  Duportail,^  Minister  of  Warj 
thirdly,  the  dismission  of  the  Garde  des  Sceaux  (Duport 
Dutertre),  to  whom  I  was  to  succeed,  as  soon  as  the  answers 
were  received  from  some  persons  whom  the  King  had  in  view 
for  the  Department  of  War  and  of  the  Marine.  M.  de  Mont- 
morin,  in  giving  up  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs,  was 
to  preserve  his  place  in  Council,  in  quality  of  ex-Minister, 
with  a  salary  of  50,000  livres. 

1  Etienne  Frangois,  Marquis  de  Moustier,  was  a  military  officer 
and  diplomatist  who  had  served  as  French  Ambassador  at  London, 
Washington  and  Berlin,  In  September  1791,  he  was  recalled  from 
Berlin  and  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Aflfairs  in  an  autograph  letter 
by  Louis  XVL 

He  declined  office  on  the  ground  that  his  attachment  to  the  King 
and  his  dislike  of  the  Constitution  would  render  his  services  more 
harmful  than  advantageous.  After  the  death  of  Louis  XVL  he  acted 
as  agent  to  the  Count  de  Provence  (Louis  XVIII.)  in  London  and 
Berlin.  After  the  restoration  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Lieutenant-General.  He  died  in  January  1817,  at  Bailie,  near 
Versailles. 

2  Louis  Lebegue  Duportail,  an  officer  in  the  Corps  of  Engineers, 
accompanied  La  Fayette  to  America  and  served  with  him  during  the 
War  of  Independence.  On  the  10th  October  1790,  he  was  appointed 
Minister  of  War  but  held  office  only  until  the  3rd  December  of  the 
same  year,  when,  after  many  denunciations  by  members  of  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly  and  stirring  scenes  in  the  Chambers,  he  resigned 
and  joined  the  Army  in  Lorraine.  On  the  15th  August  1792,  on 
the  motion  of  the  turbulent  Bishop  Fauchet,  a  Decree  of  Accusation 
was  passed  against  him.  He  was  fortunte  enough  to  save  his  life 
by  immediate  flight  to  the  United  States. 

In  1802  he  was  recalled  by  Napoleon,  but  died  during  the  voyage 
to  France.  From  the  little  that  is  known  of  him  he  appears  to  have 
been  a  man  of  ability  and  character.  It  may  safely  be  assumed  that 
the  more  able  or  honest  was  a  Minister  or  Servant  of  the  King,  the 
more  rabidly  was  he  attacked  by  the  united  Girondists  and  Jacobina 
of  the  Legislative  Assembly,  October   I791-Augu8t    1792. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  217 

The  only  thing  which  displeased  me  in  this  arrangement, 
was  the  idea  of  being  named  Garde  des  Sceaux.  I  declared 
very  plainly  to  M.  de  Montmorin,  that  I  never  would  accept 
that  place,  because  my  being  raised  to  it  might  be  imputed 
to  ambitious  views;  whereas  I  wished  to  have  it  in  my  power 
to  show,  what  was  really  the  case,  that  I  had  entered  into 
the  administration,  in  the  present  circumstances,  for  no 
other  reason  but  in  obedience  to  the  King's  repeated  orders. 
And  besides,  as  the  new  order  of  things  had  not  taken  place 
in  the  Marine  Department,  I  wished  to  be  appointed  to  it, 
because  there  it  would  be  more  in  my  power  to  reconcile  my 
determined  adherence  to  the  letter  of  the  Constitution  with 
my  obedience  to  the  King;  and  I  begged  of  M.  de  Montmorin 
to  represent  this  to  his  Majesty,  as  I  was  not  sufficiently  at  my 
ease  with  him,  to  venture  speaking  upon  a  point  which  might 
displease  him, 

M.  de  Moustier,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  at  Berlin,  was  re- 
called, in  order  to  be  appointed  to  the  Department  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  came  in  great  haste  to  Paris,  according  to  his 
Majesty's  orders.  Scarcely  was  the  motive  for  his  return 
known,  than  intrigues  were  formed  to  prevent  his  nomina- 
tion. His  reputation  for  talents,  and  the  energy  of  his  char- 
acter, made  him  be  regarded  as  dangerous  for  the  Eevolution, 
and  consequently  animated  against  him  all  those  who  sup- 
ported it.  This  cabal  was  reinforced  by  some  intriguers,  rash 
enough  to  desire  places  in  the  administration;  and  who,  on 
purpose  to  succeed  themselves,  used  every  means  to  injure  the 
character  of  every  person  who  was  called  to  it.  M.  de  Moustier 
was  declared  to  be  a  violent  aristocrat.  Some  deputies  were 
made  to  speak  against  his  nomination.  The  King  was  told 
that  it  would  have  a  bad  effect  in  the  Assembly,  &c.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Garde  des  Sceaux  (Duport  Dutertre), 
jealous   of   M.   de   Montmorin's  credit   with   the   King,   and 


218  PRIVATE  aiEMOIRS  OF 

aspiring  to  obtain  the  chief  influence  in  the  choice  of  Min- 
isters, had  been  sensibly  piqued  at  not  being  consulted  on  my 
nomination,  which,  as  he  told  me,  he  would  have  prevented. 
He  was  no  less  displeased  upon  the  present  occasion,  because 
the  King  had  never  spoken  to  him  of  his  intentions  respecting 
M.  de  Moustier;  and  therefore  he  greatly  increased  the  uneasi- 
ness which  had  been  given  to  his  Majesty  on  this  subject. 
The  result  was,  that  M.  de  Moustier,  instead  of  being  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  was  appointed  Ambassador  to  Constan- 
tinople, and  the  Count  de  Segur  to  succeed  M.  de  Montmorin, 
who,  in  spite  of  all  my  entreaties  to  engage  him  to  remain 
in  his  place,  never  ceased  his  endeavours  to  obtain  leave  to 
resign,  till  at  last  his  resignation  was  accepted.  His  retreat 
was,  at  that  time,  a  misfortune  to  the  King,  because  it  was  the 
moment  in  which  his  services  might  have  been  most  useful,  and 
in  which  there  was  the  least  inconvenience  to  have  been  appre- 
hended from  the  weakness  of  his  character.  The  King  and 
Queen  assured  me  that  they  had  observed  more  firmness  and 
decision  in  his  conduct,  since  my  admission  into  the  Ministry, 
which  was  imputed  to  his  confidence  in  me,  and  his  reliance 
on  my  support.  In  fact,  we  acted  together  with  unanimity 
on  all  occasions;  and  what  we  had  agreed  to  in  private  was 
seldom  opposed  in  the  Council.  It  has  been  remarked,  that  the 
last  months  of  the  year  1791  formed  the  only  period,  perhaps, 
of  the  Revolution,  in  which  the  King  and  Council  assumed 
the  style  which  became  them,  with  the  Assembly. 

The  resignation  of  M.  de  Montmorin  being  accepted,  the 
Count  de   Segur,^  who  had  already  returned  thanks  to  the 

3  Louis  Philippe,  Count  de  S^gur,  was  the  eldest  son  of  the  Mar^chal 
de  S^gur.  He  began  life  as  a  Military  Officer  and  served  during 
the  American  War,  after  which  he  was  promoted  to  the  Colonelcy 
of  the  Regiment  known  as  the  "  S6gur  Dragoons."  In  1774  he 
became  French  Ambassador  to  Russia,  and  accompanied  the  Empress 
Catherine  on  her  famous  voyage  to  the  Crimea  in   1787. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  219 

King  for  his  appointment,  was  to  be  installed  the  Sunday  fol- 
lowing; but  an  unforeseen  circumstance  made  him  change  his 
opinion,  and  threw  the  Eng  into  new  difficulties.  He  hap- 
pened to  go  on  Saturday,  to  the  Xational  Assembly,  where 
he  found  M.  Duportail,  who  had  come,  accompanied  by  all 
the  Ministers,  to  answer  certain  unfounded  accusations  which 
had  been  made  against  him.  He  forgot  himself  so  far  as  to 
enter  into  an  abusive  wrangle  with  the  firebrands  of  the 
Assembly,  who,  on  finding  that  his  impatience  had  carried  him 
beyond  all  bounds,  attacked  him  with  the  most  gross  abuse. 
This  revolting  scene,  which  M.  Duportail  entirely  owed  to  his 
vivacity  and  want  of  address,  disgusted  M.  de  Segur  so  much 
with  the  office  of  Minister,  that  he  sent  his  resignation,  or  rather 
his  refusal,  to  the  King,  the  very  next  day;  and  the  reason  he 
gave  was,  that  he  was  not  endued  with  sufficient  courage  or 
moderation  to  bear  such  attacks  as  M.  Duportail  had  been 
exposed  to. 

The  bad  success  of  these  two  nominations  brought  great  dis- 
credit upon  the  Council,  and  augmented  the  King's  embar- 
rassment. I  again  expostulated  with  M.  de  Montmorin  to 
prevail  with  him  to  withdraw  his  resignation,  which,  I  gave 
him  to  understand,  was  what  the  King  greatly  desired;  but 
I  did  not  succeed;  and  he  himself  proposed  that  the  King 

S^gur  returned  to  France  in  1789  and  embraced  the  Constitutional 
Cause.  In  1791  he  was  despatched  to  Rome  to  endeavour  to  persuade 
the  Pope  to  take  a  lenient  view  of  the  Civil  Constitution  of  the 
Clergy,  but  was  unsuccessful.  He  then  went  as  Ambassador  to 
Prussia,  charged  with  the  task  of  detaching  the  King  from  the  league 
of  Pilnitz,  an  important  task  at  the  moment.  He  remained  abroad 
during  the  Terror,  returned  to  France  during  the  Directory  and 
took  service  under  Napoleon  in  1800.  The  First  Consul  received 
him  with  open  arms  as  one  of  the  first  of  the  old  Noblesse  who  had 
joined    him. 

He  held  many  high  offices  during  the  Consulate  and  Empire,  and 
after  the  restoration  was  created  a  Peer  of  France.  De  S6gur  died 
in  August    1815,  at  the  age  of  71. 


220  PRIVATE  MTMOIRS  OF 

should  appoint,  in  his  place,  M.  Barthelemi,  who  was  then 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  in  England,  and  a  courier  extraor- 
dinary was  immediately  sent  to  inform  him  of  his  nomina- 
tion. The  papers  relating  to  Foreign  Affairs  were,  in  the 
interim,  placed  in  the  hands  of  M.  de  Lessart,*  but  as  M. 
Barthelemi  refused  the  situation,  M.  de  Lessart  was  definitely 
appointed  to  it,  leaving  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  vacant. 
M.  de  Montmorin  would  have  remained  in  administration,  if 
the  King  would  have  explicitly,  and  in  direct  terms,  desired 
it;  but  his  Majesty  was  greatly  hurt,  that  a  man,  with  whom 
he  had  been  bred  from  his  childliood,  and  whose  resignation 
he  had  so  long  refused  to  accept,  should  persist  in  it;  and 
therefore  the  King  would  never  condescend  to  speak  to  him  on 
the  subject. 

The  brutality  with  which  the  Assembly  received  the  justifi- 
cations of  M.  Duportail  having  determined  him  to  retire 
from  administration,  the  friends  of  Count  Louis  de  Xarbonne 
were  extremely  active  to  get  him  appointed  Minister  of  "War. 
M.  Duport  Dutertre  and  M.  de  Lessart  took  upon  themselves 
to  speak  of  it  to  the  King,  who  at  first  rejected  the  proposal. 

*  Claude  Antoine  Valder  de  Lessart  was  a  prot4g6  of  Necker,  His 
first  public  office  was  that  of  Controller  of  the  Finances,  to  which  he 
was  appointed  4th  December  1790;  a  month  later,  6th  January  1791, 
he  was  appointed  Minister  of  the  Interior  and  later  Minister  of 
War  and  of   Foreign  Affairs. 

On  the  10th  March  1792,  after  a  report  to  the  Legislative  As- 
sembly by  Brissot,  he  was  impeached  for  High  Treason,  and  sent 
for  trial  by  the  High  Court  at  Orleans.  In  the  Introduction  to  these 
^Memoirs,  I  have  quoted  a  conversation  between  Brissot  and  fitienne 
Duniont,  the  Geiievese,  on  the  means  employed  in  obtaining  this 
Decree  and  on  the  methods  used  by  the  majority  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  to  destroy  the  remnants  of  authority  left  by  the  Con- 
stitution to  the  King.  Brissot  was  not  aware  of  the  depth  of  the 
abjss  on  the  edge  of  which  he  was  exploding  his  fireworks.  De 
Lessart's  house  was  gutted  by  the  Paris  mob,  and  he  himself  was 
brutally  murdered  with  the  other  Orleans  prisoners  at  Versailles 
on   the  9th   September. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  221 

"  I  know  M.  de  Xarbonne  better  than  you  do,"  said  he  to 
them,  "  and  I  know  that  he  is  unfit  for  the  Ministry."  The 
bad  success  of  this  attempt  did  not  rebuff  them.  They 
pressed  me  to  join  them,  and  to  speak  to  the  King  in  favour 
of  M.  de  ISTarbonne.  They  solicited  me  through  M.  de  Mont- 
morin,  who  promised  marvellous  great  things  on  the  part  of 
M.  de  Narbonne,  whose  greatest  desire,  as  he  told  me,  was  to 
attach  himself  to  me,  to  take  my  conduct  for  his  model,  and 
to  pursue  the  same  plans  with  me,  &c.  In  answer  to  these 
fair  speeches,  I  merely  said,  that  not  being  acquainted  with  M. 
de  Narbonne,  I  could  not  possibly  say  either  good  or  bad  of 
him,  and  that  consequently  all  that  I  could  do,  was  to  be 
silent  upon  the  subject. 

M.  de  Montmorin,  who  had  flattered  himself,  that  in  with- 
drawing from  administration,  he  still  should  retain  his  place 
in  Council,  saw  this  hope  vanish.  The  King,  who  had  tlie 
same  idea,  having  spoken  to  M.  Duport  Dutertre  and  M.  de 
Lessart  upon  that  arrangement,  they  assured  him  that  it  was 
expressly  contrary  to  the  Constitution,  and  that  the  Assembly 
would  not  fail  to  object  to  it;  that  besides,  the  Ministers  of 
the  Department  being  alone  responsible,  ought  alone  to  be 
admitted  to  join  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Council ;  and  that 
none  of  them  would  consent  to  remain  and  co-operate  with  one 
who  was  not  responsible.  The  King,  struck  with  the  force  of 
this  objection,  which  had  not  occurred  to  him,  renounced  his 
plan  with  regard  to  M.  de  Montmorin,  who,  by  this  means, 
found  himself  deprived  of  his  place  and  resources.  His  af- 
fairs being  in  such  disorder,  that  his  debts  swallowed  up  his 
own  revenue,  I  informed  his  Majesty  of  this,  who  granted  him 
the  sum  of  50,000  livres  a  year  from  the  fund  of  the  secret 
expenses  belonging  to  the  Department  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

As  the  choice  of  a  War  Minister  could  no  longer  be  de- 
ferred, and  as  M.  de  Xarbonne  was  the  only  person  proposed 


222  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OP 

to  the  King,  his  Majesty  was  forced  to  surmount  the  extreme 
repugnance  he  had  against  appointing  him  to  that  situation. 
On  the  6th  December,  the  day  on  which  he  was  received  into 
the  Council,  the  Ministers  informed  him,  in  presence  of  the 
King,  of  a  resolution  they  had  taken  against  having  any  com- 
munication with  the  Committees,  but  of  always  corresponding 
directly  with  the  Assembly,  agreeably  to  the  Constitution. 
The  motives  which  were  given  for  this  resolution  appeared  to 
him  very  wise,  and  he  promised  to  adhere  to  it.  The  very 
next  day,  however,  he  changed  his  mind,  and  went  to  the 
Committee  of  War,  without  mentioning  his  intentions  to  the 
King,  or  to  the  Ministers.  He  afterwards  gave  as  a  reason  for 
his  conduct,  that  a  communication  with  the  Committees  ap- 
peared to  him,  on  reflection,  the  surest  means  of  making  the 
Ministers  popular,  and  consequently  rendering  them  more  pow- 
erful and  useful  to  his  Majesty.  I  contested  this  opinion,  by 
insisting  that  a  popularity  acquired  in  this  manner  could 
only  be  of  short  duration;  whereas  a  communication  with  the 
Committees  would  perpetually  expose  the  Ministers  to  the 
greatest  inconvenience,  as  nothing  was  so  easy  as  to  misinter- 
pret their  words,  and  give  a  false  colouring  to  every  thing  they 
said;  and  that  their  denial  could  have  no  weight  in  the  As- 
sembly against  the  assertion  of  a  Committee,  or  of  many  of 
its  members.  That  besides,  it  was  neither  consistent  with 
order  nor  propriety,  that  the  Ministers  should  give  the  first 
example  of  deviating  from  the  Constitution;  and  that  it  was 
evident  deviation  to  act  in  a  manner  which  it  did  not  authorise. 
M.  de  Narbonne  was  intoxicated  with  the  reception  which 
he  had  met  with  at  the  Committee,  and  with  the  alacrity  with 
which  all  he  proposed  had  been  adopted,  therefore  he  did  not 
approve  of  my  reasons.  He  went,  every  day,  both  to  the 
Assembly  and  Committees,  and  obtained  every  decree  he  de- 
niunded.     The  patriot  journalists  proclaimed  his  popularity. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  223 

and  he  imagined  it  was  so  well  established,  that  he  might  hope 
to  extend  its  happy  influence  upon  his  colleagues. 

In  this  state  of  affairs,  and  a  very  short  time  after  his 
appointment  as  Minister,  he  set  off  to  visit  the  frontiers  and 
the  armies. 

The  Ministers,  dazzled,  and  perhaps  jealous  of  his  success, 
flattered  themselves  that  they  might  obtain  the  same,  by  pur- 
suing the  same  path;  and  from  that  time,  without  coming  to 
any  formal  agreement  upon  the  subject,  or  even  consulting 
one  another,  each  of  them,  individually,  went  occasionally  to 
the  Conunittees.  I  alone  adliered  to  tlie  agreements  we  had 
all  made,  by  which  conduct  I  offended  many  members  of  the 
Assembly,  who  construed  it  into  contempt  of  the  Committees; 
and  I  was  not  long  without  feeling  the  effects  of  their  resent- 
ment. 

The  revolt  of  the  negroes  of  St.  Domingo  made  it  necessary 
to  send  a  speedy  and  considerable  assistance.  I  demanded  of 
the  Assembly,  in  my  own  name,  and  under  my  own  respon- 
sibility, the  necessary  sum  for  this  expense.  The  Assembly 
rejected  my  demand,  upon  pretence  that  it  was  not  presented 
in  a  Constitutional  form;  that  it  ought  to  have  been  made  by 
the  King  himself.  The  pretensions  of  the  Assembly,  in  this 
instance,  being  contrary  to  the  Constitution,  presented  to  me 
an  opportunity  of  entering  into  a  contest,  in  which  I  certainly 
should  have  had  the  advantage;  but  as  this  would  have  brought 
on  long  debates  on  some  important  articles  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  as  such  a  discussion  must  have  considerably  re- 
tarded the  succours  to  St.  Domingo,  which  were  so  imme- 
diately required,  I  thought  proper  to  defer  the  contest, 
determining,  in  my  ow^n  mind,  to  seize  the  first  favourable 
opportunity  of  reviving  it.  In  the  meantime,  I  proposed  to 
the  King  to  represent  to  the  Assembly,  "  that  the  form  in  whieli 
T  had  presented  the  demand  of  a  necessary  fund  for  sending 


224  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

assistance  to  St.  Domingo  was  not  contrary  to  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  desiring  that  they  would  take  an  affair  of  such 
importance  into  their  immediate  consideration." 

The  King  consented  to  write  a  letter  to  that  purport  14 
N'ovember  1791  and  the  Assembly  triumphed  on  the  occasion, 
regarding  it  as  a  formal  demand  made  by  the  King  of  the  sum 
which  had  been  irregularly  demanded  of  me,  and  consequently 
an  acquiescence  in  their  censure  of  my  demand. 

This  did  not,  however,  prevent  me  from  presenting,  in  the 
same  form,  a  few  days  afterwards,  a  demand  of  the  same 
nature,  relative  to  an  armament  extraordinary  at  Toulon, 
The  Assembly  did  not  hesitate  in  rejecting  this  second  demand 
as  they  had  done  the  first,  and  even  declaring  it  unconstitu- 
tional. Some  deputies  observed,  with  indignation,  that  it  was 
astonishing,  after  the  lesson  I  had  received,  that  I  so  soon  fell 
into  the  same  error;  on  which  account  I  was  pretty  generally 
censured.  My  colleagues  reproached  me  for  a  conduct  which 
threw  discredit  on  the  administration;  and  as  the  Constitu- 
tion was  not  well  understood  by  the  public,  few  doubted  but 
tliat  the  decree  of  the  Assembly  was  conformable  to  it,  and  that 
my  dismission  would  be  the  inevitable  consequence  of  my  head- 
strong conduct;  for  in  these  terms  they  qualified  the  step  I 
had  taken. 

A  second  letter,  from  the  King  to  the  Assembly,  exposed 
the  fallacy  of  all  this  reasoning,  for  it  contained  a  full  explana- 
tion of  every  article  of  the  Constitution,  applicable  to  this 
and  every  other  case  in  which  it  was  necessary  for  his  Majesty 
to  make  application  directly  from  himself  to  the  Assembly; 
by  which  it  appeared,  that  ray  addressing  them  as  Minister, 
in  this  particular  case,  was  according  to  the  form  prescribed 
by  the  Constitution,  and  that  the  decree  of  censure  was  the 
only  irregularity  in  the  whole  transaction.  The  consequence 
evidently  was,  that  unless  the  Assembly  repealed  their  first 


77^  ^X? 


V/      r  /   r   /  / 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  225 

decree,  I  could  not  be  considered  as  responsible  for  the  mis- 
chief which  might  result  from  not  sending  succours  to  St. 
Domingo.  This  letter  was  expressed  in  a  style  which  the 
Council  had  not,  for  above  a  year,  ventured  to  make  the  King 
assume;  and  the  Assembly  were  a  good  deal  disconcerted. 
They  got  rid  of  this  embarrassment,  by  sending  the  letter  to 
be  answered  by  the  Constitutional  Committee;  which,  how- 
ever, never  answered  it.  The  Assembly  at  the  same  time  de- 
clared that  this  letter  must  be  considered  as  a  direct  demand 
made  by  his  Majesty,  and  the  sum  which  I  required  at  first 
was  accordingly  granted. 

All  parties,  except  the  Jacobins,  applauded  the  energy  dis- 
played by  the  King  on  this  occasion;  and  the  obstinacy  and 
ignorance  of  the  Assembly  was  so  apparent,  that  it  fell  as 
much,  in  the  present  instance,  in  the  estimation  of  the  public, 
as  it  had  done,  a  month  before,  by  its  insolent  attempt  of 
seating  the  King  on  the  same  level  with  its  President. 

The  public  attention  was  soon  after  engrossed  by  a  violent 
decree,  to  deprive  the  King's  brothers  (the  Counts  of  Provence 
and  Artois,  afterwards  Louis  XYIII.  and  Charles  X.)  as 
emigrants,  of  their  right  of  succeeding  to  the  throne,  or  even 
of  being  appointed  regents  of  the  Kingdom,  in  case  of  a 
minority.     The  Abbe  Fauchet,^  about  the  same  time,  distin- 

5  Claude  Fauchet  shares  with  a  much  greater  man,  Bishop  Gregoire 
of  Elois,  the  reputation  of  being  a  sincere  Christian  and  a  fanatical 
Revolutionist.  Before  the  PLevohition,  he  enjoyed  a  considerable  repu- 
tation as  a  Preacher.  He  was  one  of  the  few  priests  of  any  eminence, 
■who  took  the  civic  oath  of  the  Clergy.  In  1791  he  was  elected 
Constitutional  Bishop  of  Calvados  and  in  the  same  year  was  also 
elected  a  Deputy  for  Calvados  in  the  Legislative  Assembly.  There 
he  distinguished  himself  even  among  the  extreme  members  of  the 
Left  by  the  violence  of  his  attacks  upon  the  King  and  his  Ministers. 
Re-elected  to  the  Convention,  he  had  the  courage,  while  declaring  that 
the  "King  had  deserved  a  worse  fate  than  death"  to  vote  against 
his  execution.  To  this  ofTenee  against  his  Jacobin  colleagues,  he 
added  the  crime  of  speaking  in  favour  of  the  Maintenance  of  Chris- 
VoL.  1—15 


226  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

guished  himself  by  an  absurd  denunciation  against  M.  de 
Lessart,  Minister  of  the  Interior.  The  animosity  of  the 
Jacobin  party  was  the  greater  against  me,  because  of  the 
King's  letter,  of  which  I  was  known  to  be  the  author,  and 
also  because  I  was  the  only  Minister  who  refused  to  have  any 
communication  with  the  Committees.  They  thought  proper, 
however,  to  let  the  advantage  which  I  had  gained  over  the 
Assembly  be  forgotten,  and  not  to  attack  me  till  I  had  lost 
some  of  my  popularity,  which  I  very  soon  did,  through  the 
injudicious  zeal  of  the  aristocratic  journalists,  who  greatly 
injured  me  by  their  exaggerated  encomiums. 

At  this  time  M.  de  Xarbonne  returned  from  his  expedition 
to  the  frontiers.  He  had  only  been  a  fortnight  absent.  All 
the  world  was  surprised  at  the  rapidity  with  which  he  had 
accomplished  so  long  a  journey  in  so  short  a  time;  yet,  he 
gave  as  circumstantial  an  account  of  the  state  of  the  places  and 
armies,  as  an  inspector  could  have  given  after  a  careful  exam- 
ination of  six  months ;  giving,  at  the  same  time,  such  a  flatter- 
ing representation  of  the  state  of  the  army  and  forts,  that  his 
brilliant  report  excited  the  most  lively  enthusiasm  in  the 
Assembly.  At  this  period,  when  a  war  with  the  Emperor 
appeared  almost  inevitable,  a  Minister,  who  displayed  so  much 
activity,  and  seemed  to  possess  so  many  resources,  inspired  the 
greatest  security.     This  report  being  printed,  and  distributed 

tianity  and  against  the  marriage  of  priests.  In  May  1793,  he  was 
expelled  from  the  Jacobin  Club,  a  sure  presage  of  death.  On  the 
18th  July  of  the  same  year,  he  was  accused  by  Chabot  of  complicity 
with  Charlotte  Corday  in  the  assassination  of  Marat.  The  accusa- 
tion was  founded  on  the  fact  that  Charlotte  Corday,  who,  though  not 
personally  known  to  Fauchet,  came  from  the  Department  of  which 
he  was  Representative,  and  was  brought  by  him  on  the  day  of  her 
arrival  in  Paris,  to  witness  the  session  of  the  Convention. 

On  the  13th  October  1793,  he  was  arrested  and  sent  before  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunal,  and  on  the  31st  of  the  same  month,  he  was 
guillotined  with  Vergniaud,  Gensonn6e  and  seventeen  other  Girondist 
Deputies. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  227 

through  the  capital,  raised  the  popularity  of  M.  de  Narbonne 
and  his  credit  in  the  Assembly,  to  such  a  degree,  that  his 
friends  began  to  think  the  War  Department  a  field  too  narrow 
for  his  talents.  Prompted  by  his  natural  vanity,  and  by  the 
counsels  of  Madame  de  Stael,  M.  de  Xarbonne  demanded  an 
audience  of  the  Queen,  with  whom  he  flattered  himself  he  pos- 
sessed more  influence  than  he  had  with  the  King,  who  never 
appeared  to  have  any  confidence  in  him.  His  object  in  this 
audience  was  to  read  a  memorial  to  her  Majesty,  upon  the 
actual  state  of  France,  and  the  critical  position  in  which  the 
King  stood.  After  expatiating  on  the  difficulty  of  re-estab- 
lishing the  King's  authority,  and  saving  the  State,  he  pro- 
posed, as  the  only  remedy,  to  place  at  the  head  of  government, 
in  quality  of  first  Minister,  a  man  who,  either  by  good  fortune 
and  address,  or  by  real  merit,  had  acquired  a  reputation  for 
abilities,  wisdom,  activity,  &c.  and  who  possessed  such  a 
degree  of  popularity  as  to  overawe  and  direct  the  Assembly; 
one  who,  in  addition  to  these  advantages,  possessed  an  un- 
shaken fidelity,  an  unbounded  attachment  to  the  King,  and 
to  all  that  concerned  his  Majesty's  interest.  Such  a  person 
being  once  found,  the  present  emergency  required  that  the 
King  and  Queen  should  place  an  entire  and  exclusive  confi- 
dence in  him,  but  without  allowing  it  to  appear ;  and  that  their 
Majesties  should  devolve  on  him  the  power  of  forming  a  new 
administration,  and  of  naming  to  all  the  different  employments 
the  persons  he  judged  most  capable. 

"  All  this  is  very  fine,"  said  the  Queen,  after  having  heard 
the  memorial,  "  but  unfortunately  impracticable ;  for  where 
can  we  find  such  an  unparalleled  and  admirable  person  for  a 
Minister?  And  even  if  it  were  possible  to  find  such  a  one,  the 
King  could  not  give  liim  all  tlie  powers  you  mention,  because, 
by  the  Constitution,  his  ]\rajcsty  has  not  the  right  of  appoint- 
ing a  prime  Minister.     He  is  obliged  to  name  six,  each  of 


228  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

whom  must  have  the  full  direction  in  his  own  department." 

This  objection  did  not  disconcert  M.  de  Narbonne.  He  waa 
very  certain,  he  said,  that  the  King  might  easily  prevail  on 
the  Assembly  to  depart  from  the  strict  letter  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, for  the  sake  of  getting  such  a  man  at  the  head  of  affairs. 

"  Well,"  said  her  Majesty,  "  suppose  the  Assembly  to  have 
this  complaisance,  still  I  ask,  where  is  the  wonderful  man  to  be 
found?" 

To  this  M.  de  ISTarbonne,  with  apparent  confusion,  and  with 
the  voice  of  modesty,  answered,  "  that  many  people  supj)osed 
that  he  himself,  whether  from  nature,  or  education,  or  good 
fortune,  or  all  three,  nearly  united  all  the  qualities  he  had 
enumerated." 

The  Queen,  bursting  into  laughter,  only  said  these  words, 
Are  you  mad,  M.  de  Narhonne?  After  this,  he  exhausted  his 
eloquence  to  convince  her  Majesty,  that  what  he  proposed  pro- 
ceeded only  from  an  excess  of  zeal  for  the  King's  service ;  and 
remarking  that  she  still  seemed  to  hold  his  proposal  in  con- 
tempt, he  fell  on  his  knees,  and  intreated  her,  with  tears,  to 
consider  his  conduct  with  indulgence. 

The  following  day  the  Queen  gave  me  an  account  of  this 
extraordinary  scene,  in  the  very  words  I  have  related  it,  but 
in  accordance  with  her  wish  I  did  not  mention  it  to  the 
other  Ministry. 

It  will  readily  be  imagined,  that  M.  de  ISTarbonne  did  not 
mention  this  step,  nor  its  consequences,  to  any  of  his  colleagues. 
He  always  preserved,  with  them,  that  style  of  pleasantry  and 
easy  gaiety  which  characterise  him.  He  expressed  a  partic- 
ular regard  for  me,  and  told  me,  that  he  greatly  approved  of 
the  conduct  I  had  adopted  with  regard  to  the  Assembly,  and 
tliat  ho  would  be  guided  by  no  other  advice  than  mine.  His 
intention  might  possibly  be  sincere,  but  he  did  not  long  perse- 
vere in  it ;  for  the  very  next  day,  having  to  demand  an  extraor- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  229 

dinary  fund  from  the  Assembly,  for  the  expense  of  the  troops 
to  be  sent  to  St.  Domingo,  he  neither  spoke  of  it  in  the  Coun- 
cil nor  to  his  colleagues;  but  he  proposed  to  the  King  to  sign 
a  letter,  in  which  his  Majesty  should  demand  the  necessary 
fund  in  his  own  name.  M.  de  Narbonne's  reason  for  this  was, 
that  the  Constitutional  Committee  not  having  decided  upon 
the  form  in  which  the  demand  ought  to  be  made,  it  was  pru- 
dent not  to  renew  the  debate  at  present,  as  it  would  only  retard 
the  expedition.  The  King  did  not  doubt  but  that  the  measure 
was  concerted  with  the  other  Ministers,  yet  he  hesitated  be- 
fore he  signed  this  letter;  and  when  he  was  prevailed  upon, 
he  added  a  postscript,  in  which  he  declared  himself  still  of 
opinion,  that  the  form  adopted  by  the  Minister  of  Marine  was 
constitutional. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  calculate  the  fatal  effect  which  this 
letter  produced.  It  was  considered  as  a  proof  of  weakness  and 
inconsistency  on  the  King's  part,  and  of  a  want  of  unanimity 
among  the  Ministers.  From  that  time  we  began  to  be  at- 
tacked with  greater  insolence. 

The  decrees  pronounced  against  the  King's  brothers  had  not 
entirely  satisfied  the  Jacobins,  who  governed  the  majority  of 
the  Assembly  by  their  influence  or  threats;  their  rancour  re- 
quired another  violent  decree  against  the  emigrants,  and  the 
Assembly  satisfied  them  in  this  point,  by  issuing  one,  which 
not  only  exceeded  its  powers,  but  was  even  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  the  Constitution.  This  was  so  evident,  that  after  a 
minute  discussion,  the  King's  Ministers  unanimously  advised 
him  to  refuse  his  sanction.  But  as  the  King  had  never  yet 
employed  this  prerogative,  the  Ministers  were  of  opinion,  that 
to  prevent  its  having  a  bad  effect  upon  the  public,  and  likewise 
that  it  might  strike  the  Assembly  with  some  degree  of  awe,  it 
would  be  prudent  to  give  to  this  measure  an  unusual  degree 
of  solemnity,  by  ordering  the  refusal  of  the  sanction  to  be 


230  PRIVATE  MEMOIES  OF 

carried  to  the  Assembly  in  the  form  of  a  royal  message,  by  all 
the  Ministers,  whose  presence  would  mark  their  unanimous 
agreement;  and  the  Garde  des  Sceaux^  (Duport  Dutertre), 
who  should  deliver  the  message,  might  insert  in  his  speech 
some  sentences,  enforcing  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  his 
Majesty's  motives  for  refusing  his  sanction  to  the  decree. 

The  12th  of  November  being  the  day  fixed  for  the  message 
of  the  King,  all  the  Ministers  met  at  the  house  of  the  Garde 
des  SceauXj  that  they  might  go  together  to  the  Assembly; 
before  we  set  out,  he  called  for  and  drank  two  large  glasses  of 
Avater.  I  was  afraid  he  was  ill;  but  on  mentioning  my  appre- 
hensions, he  answered,  "  No,  it  is  only  a  precaution  I  take, 
every  time  I  go  to  the  Assembly.  The  blood  boils  in  my  veins 
when  I  hear  these  fellows  speak;  and  if  I  did  not  take  some- 
thing to  cool  myself,  I  should  get  into  a  passion,  and  be  apt 
to  tell  them  very  disagreeable  truths." 

"  I  hope,"  said  I,  "  all  this  water  will  only  moderate  the 
passion,  without  weakening  those  truths  you  have  to  tell  them, 
be  they  agreeable  or  not." 

8  Marguerite  Louis  Ihiport  Dutertre  succeeded  the  Archbishop  of 
Bordeaux,  as  Garde  des  Sceaux  and  Minister  of  Justice,  21st  Novem- 
ber 1790.  As  a  young  and  unknown  man,  he  was  recommended  to 
the  King  by  La  Fayette,  which  sufficiently  marks  the  general  trend 
of  his  politics  up  to  that  date.  When  his  appointment  was  announced 
in  the  Assembly  it  was  received  with  vociferous  cheering  from  the 
Left  and  the  Spectators'  Galleries,  not  so  much  for  his  own  sake, 
for  he  was  little  known  in  Paris,  but  because,  for  the  first  time,  a 
man  of  quite  obscure  birth  and  position  had  been  appointed  to  the 
highest  post  of  dignity  in  the  Kingdom.  Duport  showed  both  ability 
and  character  in  the  discharge  of  his  difficult  post.  He  remained 
in  office  for  sixteen  months,  during  the  last  six  of  which  he  was 
constantly  denounced  by  the  Jacobins  and  Girondists  of  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly.  He  resigned  at  last  on  the  22nd  March  1792. 
Again  denounced  after  the  10th  August,  he  was  arrested  and  tried 
before  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal  and  guillotined  with  Barnave  and 
others  on  the  28th  November  1793,  before  attaining  his  thirty-ninth 
year.  On  hearing  his  sentence  he  exclaimed,  "  The  Revolution  puts 
men  to  death,  it  remains  for  posterity  to  put  them  on  their  trial." 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  231 

"  Fear  not,"  replied  he. 

The  appearance  of  all  the  Ministers,  and  a  message  from 
the  King  (the  first  the  Assembly  had  ever  received,  and  of 
which  the  object  was  entirely  unknown),  excited  a  general  and 
profound  silence  in  the  hall  and  in  the  tribunes.  That  of 
the  tribunes  could  only  be  imputed  to  curiosity;  but  in  the 
silence  of  the  Assembly  there  was  at  least  as  much  uneasiness 
as  surprise.  The  Garde  des  Sceaux  began  by  laying  upon 
the  table  the  different  decrees  which  the  King  had  sanctioned, 
among  which  were  two  or  three  which  the  Assembly  had  ex- 
pected, for  some  time,  with  a  good  deal  of  impatience.  He 
terminated  this  first  part  of  his  mission  by  informing  the 
Assembly,  that  with  respect  to  the  decree  against  the  emi- 
grants, the  King  would  examine  it;  which  signified,  in  con- 
stitutional language,  that  the  decree  was  refused.  He  then 
drew  from  his  pocket  the  paper  which  contained  his  discourse. 
Unluckily  the  water  operated,  at  that  moment,  with  so  much 
violence,  that  his  colour  forsook  him,  his  hands  trembled,  and 
his  voice  failed  him  so  much,  that  he  could  hardly  read.  And 
what  was  still  more  unlucky,  the  first  phrase,  instead  of  relat- 
ing to  the  subject  of  the  message,  mentioned  the  refusal  of 
the  sanction.  He  was  not  permitted  to  proceed  farther.  A 
general  murmur  arose.  All  the  deputies  spoke  at  once.  Every 
one  insisted  on  being  heard,  but  no  silence  was  to  be  ob- 
tained. They  all  vociferously  exclaimed,  "  M.  Le  President, 
we  cannot  listen  to  this  message."  "  This  message  is  uncon- 
stitutional." "  It  is  the  motives  for  refusing  the  sanction." 
"  Call  the  Minister  of  Justice  to  order."  "  M.  Le  President, 
the  Constitution  — "  "  M.  Le  President,  allow  me  to  make 
a  motion  of  order."  This  tumult  lasted  seven  or  eight  min- 
utes. The  Ministers  waited  the  issue  of  it  standing.  At 
length  the  President  put  it  to  the  vote.  Whether  they  should 
hear  the  message,  or  pass  to  the  order  of  the  day.     The  Garde 


232  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

des  Sceaux,  entirely  disconcerted  by  this  tumultuous  scene, 
sat  down  -with  the  other  Ministers,  giving  up  all  hopes  of  be- 
ing heard. 

To  prevent  such  an  unexpected  and  unfortunate  termina- 
tion of  the  business,  I  asked  leave  to  speak.  They  refused  to 
hear  me,  and  the  motion  for  the  order  of  the  day  was  car- 
ried; after  which  the  President  told  me  that  I  was  now 
allowed  to  speak.  I  rose  and  said,  that  I  now  had  nothing  to 
say;  but  had  I  been  heard  before  the  last  motion  was  carried, 
I  should  have  informed  the  Assembly,  that  the  object  of  the 
King's  message  was  to  acquaint  them  with  the  new  measures 
adopted  by  his  Majesty  for  stopping  the  emigration.  This 
renewed  the  tumult;  one  party  insisting  on  hearing  the  mes- 
sage, and  recalling  the  decree  just  pronounced;  the  other  ex- 
claiming for  its  execution.  But  the  Ministers  remaining  pas- 
sive, and  the  Garde  des  Sceaux,  who  ought  to  have  represented 
to  the  Assembly,  that  they  had  no  right,  by  the  Constitution, 
to  refuse  to  hear  any  message  from  the  King,  being  silent,  the 
order  of  the  day  was  adopted. 

The  single  sentence  which  I  had  pronounced  on  this  occa- 
sion was  incorrectly  given  in  the  Moniteur,  in  which,  after  the 
words  "stopping  the  emigration"  which  I  had  actually  pro- 
nounced, the  editor  of  the  paper  added  what  I  had  not  pro- 
nounced, namely,  the  words  "of  the  Officers  of  Marine." 
I  expostulated  against  this  false  account,  in  a  letter  Avhich  I 
caused  to  be  inserted  in  the  same  Journal,  and  in  which  I 
affirmed,  that  I  had  not  mentioned  the  Oflficers  of  Marines ; 
and  that  as  none  of  them  had  deserted  their  posts  since  my 
entering  the  Ministry,  there  was  no  need  of  proposing  to  the 
King  any  new  measure  respecting  them.  It  will  appear  in 
tlie  sequel,  what  animosity  this  letter,  innocent  as  it  was,  ex- 
cited against  me. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Nomination  of  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville. —  The  Ministers  dine  at  his 
house,  with  Potion,  and  some  of  the  members  of  the  municipality. 
—  Decree  against  the  priests. —  The  King  refuses  his  sanction. — 
Denunciation  against  me. —  The  consequences  of  this  affair. —  Ex- 
pulsion of  Bonjour. 

M.  Cahier  de  Gerville/  who  was  appointed  Minister  of 
Home  Affairs,  in  the  place  of  M.  de  Lessart  30  JSTovember 
1791,  was  formerly  an  advocate  in  the  Parlement  of  Paris. 
Although  his  talents  did  not  exceed  mediocrity,  he  was  es- 
teemed for  his  probity  and  assiduity  in  business.  He  was  then 
substitute  of  the  chief  law  officer  of  the  Municipality  of  Paris, 
and  enjoyed  great  popularity.  This  consideration  deter- 
mined his  friend,  the  Garde  des  Sceaux,  to  propose  his  ap- 
pointment, as  a  means  of  rendering  the  King  more  popular. 

1  As  stated  here,  Bon  Claude  Cahier  de  Gerville  was  appointed 
Minister  in  the  vain  hope  of  placating  the  enmity  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  and  the  Municipality.  His  previous  career  has  been  that 
of  a  somewhat  stormy  patriot.  By  profession  an  advocate,  he  had 
distinguished  himself  by  a  pamphlet,  published  in  1786  against  the 
civil  disabilities  of  French  Protestants,  which  was  followed  shortly 
afterwards  (whether  "post"  or  "propter  hoc")  by  the  edict  grant- 
ing them  their  full  political  and  legal  rights.  He  was  elected  in  1789 
to  a  high  legal  office  in  the  Municipality  of  Paris,  which  he  held 
until  his  appointment  to  the  Ministry,  27th  November  1791.  His 
nomination  was  at  first  welcomed  by  the  Municipality,  who  passed 
a  resolution  to  this  effect :  "Few  ordinary  men  would  have  made 
such  a  sacrifice  as  M.  Cahier.  It  can  easily  be  imagined  tliat  a 
gentleman  who  possesses  an  income  of  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand 
livres  (francs),  who  is  not  of  robust  health  and  who  enjoys  so 
delightful  a  position  in  the  society  of  his  friends,  cannot  without 
some   misgivings  take  up   the   burden    imposed   upon   a   Minister   in 


234  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

The  effect  of  such  temporizing  measures,  however  agreeable 
for  a  short  time,  is  seldom  of  durable  utility.  The  present 
state  of  affairs  required  boldness  and  intrepidity.  The  people 
generally  place  their  confidence,  particularly  in  times  of  rev- 
olution, in  persons  who  possess  such  qualities;  for  which  rea- 
son, in  popular  assemblies,  we  constantly  find  that  the  majority 
declare  in  favour  of  the  orator  who  has  the  best  lungs,  and 
is  most  violent  in  his  opinions. 

If  the  King  had  determined  upon  some  vigorous  measure, 
it  would  certainly  have  been  wise  to  have  preceded  it  by  an 
act  of  popularity.  But  these  multiplied  concessions,  without 
any  act  of  vigour,  were  much  more  hurtful  than  useful,  as 
the  King  acquired  only  a  short-lived  popularity,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  dignity,  and  of  the  small  remains  of  power  he  still 
possessed. 

A  few  days  after  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville's  appointment,  he 
invited  the  Ministers  to  dinner  at  his  small  lodgings  in  the 
Rue  Beauhourg.     Petion,-  who  had  just  been  elected  Mayor 

these  days  of  trouble  and  suspicion."  He  was  not  received  by  Louis 
XVI.  with  much   sympathy. 

The  King  is  reported  to  have  said  to  him  when  he  first  entered 
the  Council  Chamber,  "  You  have  charged  yourself,  Monsieur,  with 
a  very  hea\y  task."  To  which  Cahier  replied  "  Nothing  is  im- 
possible, Sire,  to  the  deservedly  popular  Minister  of  a  Patriot  King." 

Notwithstanding  the  demagogic  nature  of  his  addresses  to  the 
Assembly  and  the  denunciations  of  priests  and  fanatics  which 
savoured  all  his  speech,  official  or  otherwise,  he  was  an  honest  man 
and  consequently  soon  fell  into  the  slough  of  difficulties  and  de- 
nunciations from  which  no  Minister  of  the  period  escaped. 

The  tales  of  his  quarrels  with  Bertrand  de  Moleville  are  fully 
narrated  here.  He  retired  on  the  15th  March  1792,  and  in  October 
of  the  same  year  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  the  Mayoralty 
of  Paris.  The  remainder  of  his  life  was  passed  in  privacy,  in  his 
native  city  of  Bayeaux,  where  he  died,  at  the  early  age  of  45,  in 
February    1796. 

2  Jerome  Potion  de  Villeneuve,  while  a  Member  of  the  Constituent 
Assembly,  formed  one  of  the  small  group  of  ultra-democrats  who 
sat  on   the   extreme   left  of  the  Assembly.     At  an   early   period   he 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  235 

of  Paris,  was  also  invited,  with  some  members  of  the  munici- 
pality. The  intention  of  the  new  Minister  was  to  associate 
us  in  his  popularity,  or  at  least  to  prove  to  us,  that  what 
the  Garde  des  Sceaux  had  said  was  not  exaggerated.  The 
Mayor  and  members  of  the  municipality  seemed  to  examine 
us  minutely,  and  had  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  our  words 
and  behaviour,  for  we  showed  them  great  politeness,  and 
treated  them  as  if  they  had  been  our  companions.  We  played 
at  billiards  with  them,  and  were  always  of  their  opinion.  I 
particularly  fixed  my  attention  upon  Petion,  for  the  King  and 
Queen  were  prejudiced,  at  that  time,  in  his  favour,  and  had 
wished  him  to  be  elected  in  preference  to  M.  de  la  Fayette, 
when  they  stood  candidates  for  the  mayoralty.  As  Petion  and 
I  were  the  strongest  at  billiards,  we  played  several  parties  to- 
gether, and  I  was  for  some  time  left  alone  with  him.  His 
countenance,  which  at  first  sight  appeared  open  and  agreeable, 
upon  a  nearer  examination,  was  insipid  and  devoid  of  ex- 

and  Robespierre,  with  whom  he  was  closely  allied  in  politics  and 
social  life,  became  the  leading  members  of  the  Jacobin  Club  and 
showed  the  deification  of  the  Paris  Democracy.  In  June  1791,  he 
was  sent  with  Barnave  and  Latour-Manbourg  to  accompany  the  King 
and  Royal  Family  on  their  return  as  prisoners  from  Varennes. 
Barnave  on  this  occasion  behaved  admirably.  Not  so  Petion,  who 
was  so  fatuous  as  to  imagine  that  he  made  an  impression  on  the 
King's  sister,  Madame  Elizabeth.  In  his  Memoirs  he  put  on  paper 
these  words,  "I  think  that  had  we  been  alone,  she  (Madame  Eliza- 
beth) would  have  abandoned  herself  to  the  promptings  of  nature 
in  my  arms."  Neither  this  passage,  nor  the  general  incapacity  and 
ill-condition  of  the  writer  were  known  to  the  King  and  Queen  when 
they  had  the  incredible  folly  to  support  Potion's  candidature  for 
the  Mayoralty  against  La  Fayette,  14th  November  1791.  They 
paid  dearly  for  their  blunder.  Whether  P€tion  played  the  part  of  a 
traitor  or  of  an  imbecile,  or  of  a  compound  of  both,  before  and 
during  the  invasion  of  tlie  Tuileries  by  the  mob  on  the  20th  June 
1792,  is  not  quite  certain.  On  the  next  day  he  was  sent  for  by 
Louis  XVI.  and  the  following  dialogue,  in  which  for  once  the  King 
showed  some  spirit,  ensued: 
Louis.  Well,  ^Monsieur  le  Maire,  is  peace  re-established  in  Paris? 


236 


PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 


pression.  His  want  of  information  and  heavy  elocution, 
meanly  trivial  or  absurdly  bombastic,  made  me  consider  him  as 
a  man  by  no  means  dangerous.  I  even  imagined,  that  by 
flattering  his  vanity  or  ambition,  he  might  be  rendered  useful 
to  the  King.  His  conduct  has  proved  how  much  I  was  de- 
ceived; and  I  cannot,  even  at  this  distance  of  time,  reflect 
without  pain  on  my  having  been  deceived  by  so  silly  a  knave. 
The  Assembly,  whose  credit  seemed  ever  supported  by  acts 
of  violence,  had  passed  a  decree,  enjoining  the  unconstitutional 
priests  to  take  a  new  oath,  or  to  quit  the  Kingdom.  The 
bishops,  then  at  Paris,  were  convinced  that  the  King,  who 
had  already  manifested  the  deepest  regret  for  having  sanc- 

Petion.  Sire,  the  People  having  placed  their  representatives  be- 

fore you  are  now  tranquil  and  satisfied. 

Louis.  You  must  admit,   sir,  that  what  took   place  yesterday 

was  a  disgrace  and  scandal,  and  that  the  Municipality 
failed  in  its  duty  by  not  preventing  it. 

Petion.  Sire,  the  Municipality  did  all  that  it  ought  and  all  that 

it  could  do.  It  desires  nothing  better  than  to  make  its 
own  conduct  as  clear  as  daylight  and  leave  it  to  public 
opinion  to  judge  of  it. 

Louis.  Say  rather,  that  the  entire  Nation  will  judge  it. 

P6tion.  The  Municipality  has  no  fear  of  the  judgment  of  the 

Kation. 

Louis.  In  wliat  state  is  the  Capital  at  this  moment? 

P6tion.  Sire,  all  is  calm  and  peaceful. 

Louis.  That  is  not  true. 

P6tion.  Sire  — 

Louis.  Hold  your  tongue. 

P6tion.  A  Magistrate  elected  by  the  Peoj)le  has  no  nerd  to  l)nld 

his  tongue  when  he  has  done  his  duty  and  is  telling  the 
truth. 

Louis.  I  \\o\d.  you  responsible  for  the  tranquillity  of  Paris. 

Potion.  Sire,  the  Municipality  — 

Louis.  You  may  go. 

Potion.  The  Municipality  knows  its  duties  and  is  ready  to  fulfil 

them  without  being  reminded  of  what  they  are. 
On  the  9th  July,  the  "  Directors  of  the  Department  of  the  Seine," 

an   authority  nominally   of  higher   rank   than   the  Municipality,   sus- 
pended P6tion,  and  the  Recorder  of  Paris,  Manuel.     But  PC'tion  was 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  237 

tioned  former  decrees  against  tlie  clergy,  would  be  happy  to 
have  motives  and  means  for  refusing  that  one.  They  there- 
fore determined  to  draw  up  a  memorial  against  it,  and  applied 
to  me  to  present  it  to  his  Majesty.  I  had  a  private  corre- 
spondence with  the  Bishop  of  Uzes  (Henri  di  Bethery)  on 
this  subject;  for  at  that  time  a  Minister  could  have  no  public 
communication  with  a  bishop,  without  awakening  suspicion 
against  himself. 

The  King  appeared  much  affected  by  this  memorial,  and 
said  to  me,  with  the  energy  which  he  ever  showed  in  the  cause 
of  religion,  "  They  may  be  assured  I  never  will  sanction  it ; 

still  the  idol  of  the  Paris  mob  and  the  Girondist  and  Jacobin 
majority  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  was  thankful  to  take  advantage 
of  the  tumults  which  arose  throughout  the  city,  and  to  be  over-awed 
into  re-instating  P6tion  and  Manuel.  On  the  10th  August,  P6tion 
was  imprisoned,  or  imprisoned  himself  in  the  Hotel  de  Ville,  and 
during  the  September  Massacres  he  pursued  the  same  judicious  course. 
At  the  first  session  of  the  Convention  he  was  elected  President.  His 
friend  and  colleague  Manuel,  had  the  impudence  to  propose  that 
the  President  of  the  Convention  should  enjoy  the  title  of  President 
of  the  French  Republic,  and  be  lodged  in  state,  with  a  guard  of 
honour,  at  the  Tuileries. 

Hence  there  immediately  arose  rumours  that  Petion  was  meditating 
a  Dictatorship  and  his  popularity  melted  rapidly  away. 

During  these  first  days  of  the  Convention,  the  Kepublicans,  united 
more  or  less  closely  in  the  Legislative  Assembly,  began  to  form 
themselves  into  two  parties,  the  Girondists,  forming  the  right  of 
the  new  assembly,  and  the  Jacobins,  the  left.  Petion  joined  the 
Girondists  and  Robespierre  the  Jacobins  and  their  friendship  and 
alliance  came  to  an  end.  With  the  majority  of  his  party,  Petion 
voted  for  the  death  of  the  King,  and  qualified  his  judgment  by  voting 
for  the  appeal  to  the  People.  He  was  included  with  all  the  principal 
Girondists,  in  the  proscriptions  of  the  31st  May,  and  2nd  June    1793. 

Accompanied  by  Buzot  and  Barbaroux  he  escaped  from  Paris  and 
found  a  temporary  refuge  at  Saint  Emilioh,  in  the  Department  of 
the  Gironde,  but  hearing  of  the  discovery  of  two  of  their  colleagues 
in  the  town,  they  quitted  thoir  hiding  place  and  fled  to  the  fields. 
Here  Barbaroux  tried  to  shoot  himself,  but  failed  and  was  arrested 
and  guillotined  shortly  afterwards.  Pftion  and  Buzot  escaped  for 
the  moment,  but  their  bodi<'S  were  found  some  days  later,  20th  June 
1794,  half  devoured  by  beasts,  wolves,  as  it  has  always  been  believed. 


238  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

but  the  difficulty  is  to  know  whether  I  ought  simply  to  refuse 
my  assent,  and  to  assign  the  motives  of  my  refusal,  or  to 
temporise,  on  account  of  the  present  circumstances.  Endeav- 
our," continued  he,  "  to  discover  the  opinion  of  your  colleagues 
before  the  subject  is  mentioned  in  the  Council."  I  remarked 
to  the  King,  that  he  was  not,  by  the  Constitution,  obliged  to 
assign  the  motives  of  his  refusal;  and  that  although  the  As- 
sembly ought  to  be  pleased  to  see  his  Majesty  give  up  that  im- 
portant prerogative,  it  was  so  ill  disposed,  that  it  might  re- 
fuse to  listen  to  his  motives,  and  might  even  reproach  him 
with  this  breach  of  the  Constitution,  as  if  it  were  a  violation 
of  his  oath ;  that  to  temporise  was  only  a  display  of  weakness, 
and  would  encourage  the  Assembly  to  become  still  more  en- 
terprising; and  besides  that,  a  simple  negative  was  at  once 
more  sure  and  more  proper.  The  affair  was  discussed  the 
day  after,  in  a  committee  of  the  Ministers,  and  the  indispen- 
sable necessity  of  a  negative  was  acknowledged  by  all. 

At  the  following  Council,  this  measure  was  proposed  to 
tlie  King,  who  adopted  it,  with  extreme  satisfaction.  But 
this  interval  of  happiness  was  interrupted  by  the  proposal 
which  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  made  to  him,  of  appoint- 
ing constitutional  priests  to  the  Queen's  chapel  and  his  own, 
as  the  surest  means  of  silencing  the  malcontents,  and  con- 
vincing the  people  of  his  sincere  attachment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion. "  iSTo,  sir,  no,"  said  the  King,  in  a  firm  voice ;  "  let 
no  one  speak  to  me  upon  this  subject;  since  liberty  of  wor- 
ship is  made  general,  certainly  I  ought  to  enjoy  it  as  well 
as  others." 

The  warmth  with  which  he  pronounced  these  words  aston- 
ished us,  and  silenced  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville. 

The  denunciation  against  M.  de  Lessart  was  rejected  by  the 
Assembly,  after  hearing  his  justification,  in  spite  of  the  decla- 
mations of  Brissot  and  Condorcet,  the  calumnies  of  the  Abbd 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  239 

Fauehet,  and  the  wishes  of  Madame  de  Stael.  That  lady  was 
desirous  that  M.  de  Xarbonne  should  be  appointed  to  the 
Department  of  Foreign  Affairs.  So  far  from  attempting  to 
conceal  this,  she  had  the  sincerity  to  own  it  to  M.  de  Lessart 
himself,  in  a  letter  of  four  pages,  in  which  she  endeavoured 
to  prove,  "  that  his  honour,  the  welfare  of  the  State,  and  the 
King's  interest,  required  his  resigning  a  place,  which  his  bad 
health  and  his  character  rendered  him  unequal  to,  in  circum- 
stances so  difficult."  This  letter  was  read  in  the  ministerial 
committee  by  M.  de  Lessart  himself. 

The  storm  which  had  been  so  long  preparing  against  me 
at  length  broke  out,  and  Cavelier,^  clerk  of  the  office  of  ma- 
rine at  Brest,  came  forward  as  my  accuser.  This  man,  who 
was  as  great  a  knave  as  the  Eevolution  has  produced,  had 
nothing  more  urgent,  upon  his  first  arrival  in  Paris,  than 
to  come  and  pay  his  respects  to  me,  and  to  demand  a  more 
advantageous  place  than  that  which  he  was  tlien  in. 

"  Are  not  you  a  deputy  ?  "  said  I. 

*'  Yes,"  replied  he ;  "  but  I  do  not  regard  that." 

"  But  do  you  not  regard  the  Constitution,  either  ?  "  said  I, 

"  How  do  you  mean  ?  "  resumed  he. 

"  I  mean,  that  you  ought  to  know,"  returned  I,  "  that  the 
Constitution  does  not  admit  of  your  filling  a  superior  employ- 
ment, until  a  certain  time  after  the  expiration  of  your  depu- 

3  Blaise  Cavelier,  whom  Bertrand  describes  as  "  as  great  a  knave 
as  the  Revolution  produced,"  a  very  large  order,  was  chief  clerk  at 
Brest,   when   the   Revolution   began. 

lie  was  elected  to  the  Legislative  Assembly  as  Deputy  for  Finistere 
in  September    1792. 

According  to  Bertrand  he  came  to  London  in  1794  and  offered  to 
deliver  the  port  of  Brest  to  the  English  Government,  but  was  expelled 
from  the  coimtry.  However  this  may  be,  he  continued  to  climb  up 
the  official  ladder  until  he  gained  the  appointment  of  Inspector  Gen- 
eral of  the  Navy,  which  he  held  until  the  year  1816,  when  he  was 
either  pensioned  or  dismissed.  He  died,  at  the  age  of  76,  in 
183L 


240  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

tation;  consequently  you  can  no  longer  insist  upon  your 
demand,  as  I  cannot  grant  it  without  violating  the  Constitu- 
tion." 

"  You  are  very  rigid,  sir,"  said  he. 

"  Xot  at  all ;  I  am  only  faithful  to  my  oath,"  said  I,  and 
left  him. 

Such  was  my  accuser;  and  the  pretence  of  his  denunciation 
was  the  assertion  which  I  had  inserted  in  the  Moniteur,  con- 
cerning the  officers  of  the  Navy.  But  the  real  motive  was 
to  stop  the  reforms  which  I  had  announced  or  ordered  in  the 
principal  departments  of  the  administration  of  the  seaports, 
where  an  immense  system  of  pillaging,  and  all  kinds  of  fraud 
existed.  It  was  therefore  easy  for  Cavelier  to  excite  against 
me  all  who,  like  himself,  profited  by  such  abuses;  and  accord- 
ingly memorials,  subscribed  to  by  many  names,  supporting  his 
accusation,  were  sent  from  Brest  and  Toulon.  Those  em- 
ployed at  the  port  of  Eochefort,  however,  had  the  firmness 
and  the  integrity  to  resist  all  the  manoeuvres  of  Cavelier  and 
the  other  Jacobins,  for  obtaining  from  them  a  memorial,  in  the 
same  strain  with  those  of  Brest  and  Toulon.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  transmitted  to  the  King,  to  the  Assembly,  and  to 
myself,  addresses,  in  which  they  declared,  "  that  having  been 
strongly  solicited  to  join  my  accuser,  truth  and  justice  obliged 
them  to  acknowledge,  that  they  had  only  praises  to  bestow 
upon  the  wisdom  and  activity  of  my  administration." 

The  memorials  which  came  from  the  ports  of  Brest  and 
Toulon  were  sent  to  the  Committee  of  Marine,  as  Avas  that 
of  Cavelier,  who  was  a  member  of  that  committee,  and  who 
caused  himself  to  be  appointed  reporter  of  the  whole  affair. 
He  was  powerfully  seconded  by  Malassis  and  Eouyer.  The 
first  was  printer  to  the  marine  at  Brest,  and  had  accumulated 
above  600,000  livres,  by  the  abuses  which  existed  in  that  em- 
ployment.    The  second  was  a  deputy  from  Ximes,  as  remark- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  241 

able,  in  the  Assembly,  for  the  strength  of  his  voice,  as  for 
his  audacity  and  stupidity.  The  chief  confidant  of  this  man 
was  one  Esmenard,  a  journalist,  who  was  the  framer  of  the 
motions  which  this  noisy  deputy  vociferated  from  the  trib- 
unes. 

This  same  journalist  was  also  known  to  me.  He  had  so- 
licited the  office  of  consul,  and  confessed  to  me,  that  Rouyer's 
violence  arose  from  his  hopes,  that  if  I  should  be  deprived  of 
my  office,  it  would  be  given  to  a  certain  friend  of  his  own, 
from  whose  influence,  as  soon  as  he  should  be  appointed  Min- 
ister of  the  Marine,  Eouyer  expected  to  obtain  the  cross  of 
St.  Louis,  of  which  he  was  very  ambitious,  although  he  had 
never  served;  and  he  also  expected,  by  the  same  influence,  to 
get  a  contract  for  furnishing  provisions  for  the  Navy  for  a  par- 
ticular company,  who  had  promised  him  a  reward  of  a  hun- 
dred thousand  crowns,  in  case  he  succeeded. 

I  was  still  so  much  affected  by  the  rude  and  indecent  con- 
duct of  the  Assembly  towards  M.  Duportail,  of  the  insolent 
calumnies  of  the  Abbe  Fauchet,  with  respect  to  M.  de  Lessart, 
and  with  the  weakness  which  those  Ministers  had  shown  in 
their  defence,  that  I  ardently  wished  for  an  opportunity  of 
expressing  my  indignation  against  these  contemptible  denun- 
ciators; and  I  can  say  with  truth,  that  the  accusation  of 
Cavelier  gave  me  infinitely  more  pleasure  than  pain.  My 
answer  was  soon  ready.  I  went  to  the  Assembly  the  5th  of 
December,  and  pronounced,  with  the  utmost  vehemence,  a  dis- 
course, in  which  the  following  phrases  (addressed,  with  a 
look  of  the  most  profound  contempt,  to  the  Abbe  Fauchet) 
were  generally  applauded :  "  I  have  waited  with  impatience 
until  a  formal  accusation  against  myself  should  furnish  me 
with  an  opportunity  of  submitting  to  the  wisdom  and  to  the 
justice  of  the  jSTational  Assembly  some  reflections,  to  induce 
them  to  receive  with  circumspection  the  perpetual  accusations, 
Vol.  I— 1G 


242  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

SO  often  unfoundedly  renewed,  against  the  principal  agents 
of  the  executive  power.  It  belongs,  gentlemen,  to  your  dig- 
nity, to  prove  to  all  France,  that  this  august  temple  of  lib- 
erty is  not  a  post  from  which  the  envenomed  arrows  of  cal- 
umny can  with  impunity  be  darted  against  innocence,  and 
the  best  friends  of  the  country.  A  denunciation  founded 
upon  truth  is  a  duty,  when  it  can  be  useful  to  the  public; 
but  calumny  is  a  crime  which  should  ever  be  pursued  by  the 
vengeance  of  the  laws,  wherever  it  seeks  refuge.  The  privi- 
lege of  wounding  the  person,  or  attacking  the  life  of  a  citizen, 
should  belong  to  no  one.  But  if  this  horrible  privilege  were 
allowed  to  exist,  its  most  criminal  abuse  would  be  to  direct 
it  against  those  employed  in  the  public  service,  because  it 
would  oblige  them  to  consume,  in  their  own  defence,  that 
time  which  they  owe  to  their  country.  In  short,  gentlemen, 
it  is  the  interest  of  the  Constitution,  and  of  its  truest  friends, 
that  it  should  be  executed.  To  the  King  is  entrusted  the  im- 
portant care  of  watching  over  it.  The  Ministers  are  his  chief 
agents,  and  they  ought  ever  to  be  treated  with  becoming  re- 
spect. To  connive  at  any  attack  against  the  dignity  of  their 
characters,  is  to  weaken  the  springs  of  government,  and  tends 
to  destroy  the  authority  of  the  national  representation  itself. 
Nevertheless,  if  the  numerous  enemies,  which  the  strict  exe- 
cution of  our  duty  to  the  public  may  raise  against  us,  expect 
to  overcome  our  zeal  by  their  calumnies,  they  will  be  disap- 
pointed; for  I  will  take  upon  myself  to  declare,  in  the  name 
of  all  my  colleagues,  that  we  consider  such  attacks,  from  such 
a  quarter,  as  honourable  for  us,  and  of  course  such  attacks 
will  rather  animate  than  depress  our  exertions." 

This  Marine  Committee,  puzzled  to  refute  the  proofs  I 
had  brought,  and  the  facts  I  had  established,  in  my  defence, 
did  not  present  their  report  of  the  accusation  against  me  till 
the  end  of  February,  though  the  denunciation  had  been  made 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  243 

in  the  month  of  November.  After  the  report  was  read  in  the 
Assembly,  Cavelier,  and  five  others  of  the  committee,  proposed 
a  decree  of  accusation  against  me;  but  this  was  unanimously 
rejected.  They  then  proposed,  that  I  should  be  declared  to 
have  lost  the  confidence  of  the  nation;  but  this  also  was  re- 
jected, by  a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  members.  They 
then  demanded  the  appel  nominal;  *  and  as  it  was  past  twelve 
at  night,  many  of  the  deputies,  convinced  I  should  still  have 
a  sufficient  majority,  retired.  There  was,  in  fact,  a  majority, 
but  of  fifteen  only.  On  the  following  morning,  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  Assembly,  when  there  were  only  two  hundred  mem- 
bers present,  a  decree  was  proposed  and  passed,  to  present  a 
memorial  to  the  King,  containing  the  causes  of  the  Assem- 
bly's dissatisfaction  with  me ;  and  M.  Herault  de  Sechelles  was 
mean  enough  to  undertake  to  draw  up  this  memorial.  The 
success  of  this  manoeuvre  was  not  yet  sufficient  for  my  en- 
emies.    There  was  hardly  a  day  passed,  in  which  complaint 

•*  Speaking  in  general  terms  the  "  Appel  Nominal "  is  somewhat 
similar  to  a  Call  of  the  House;  an  exact  count  and  record  of  those 
present  when  a  vote  is  taken.  But  under  the  Constituent  and  Legis- 
lative Assemblies,  and  still  more  under  the  Convention,  the  Appel 
Nominal  was  construed  to  involve  also  an  open  vote,  instead  of  a 
vote   by   ballot. 

It  implied,  therefore,  a  vote  given  by  each  member  in  the  presence 
and  knowledge  of  the  crowded  galleries  of  spectators,  of  whom  we 
hear  so  much  in  these  Memoirs,  and  was  the  most  formidable  means 
which  could  be  employed  to  intimidate  those  who  held  the  unpopular 
opinions.  It  seems  to  me  incontestable  that  the  sentence  passed  by 
the  Convention  on  Louis  XVI.  was  due  absolutely  to  the  Decree 
ordering  that  the  voting  should  be  by  "Appel  Nominal "  on  each 
question.  Had  the  voting  been  by  ballot,  only  a  small  minority 
would  have  voted  for  death,  or  against  the  appeal  to  the  people.  As 
it  was,  each  Member  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  an  immense  howling, 
bloodthirsty  mob  who  packed  the  galleries  and  the  halls,  threatening 
with  instant  death  every  Representative  whose  vote"  was  doubtful. 

It  is  to  terror,  not  to  conviction,  that  we  must  attribute  the 
regicide  vote,  counted  by  some  as  carried  by  a  majority  of  five, 
by  others  by  a  majority  of  one  vote. 


244  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

of  my  administration  did  not  arrive,  through  their  means, 
from  the  different  seaports;  but  these  accusations  were  so  ab- 
surd, and  so  easily  refuted,  that  they  did  not  give  the  small- 
est uneasiness,  or  cause  me  to  deviate  a  hair's-breadth  from 
the  line  of  conduct  I  had  traced  for  myself. 

The  following  instance,  among  many,  is  a  specimen  of  the 
means  employed  against  me:  An  officer,  named  d'Estimau- 
ville,  was  recalled  from  India,  upon  account  of  a  private 
quarrel.  Being,  soon  after  his  arrival  in  Paris,  destitute  of 
money,  he  addressed  a  memorial  to  me,  demanding  to  be  com- 
prehended in  the  distribution  of  a  gratification  granted  by 
the  Assembly  to  about  twenty  soldiers,  who  had  been  sent 
back  to  France  from  Pondicherry,  by  M.  de  Fresnes  the  gov- 
ernor, upon  account  of  seditious  practices.  The  decree,  grant- 
ing this  shameful  gratification,  contained  the  names  of  those 
who  were  to  share  in  it.  I  could  not  add  the  name  of  M. 
d'Estimauville  to  such  a  list,  without  dishonouring  him  and 
exposing  myself.  But  his  pressing  necessity  prevented  him 
from  weigliing  the  motives  of  my  refusal,  and  he  complained 
loudly  of  it  as  an  act  of  harshness  and  injustice.  Some  time 
after,  he  fell  sick.  The  Jacobins  being  informed  that  there 
existed  an  individual  who  had  a  complaint  against  me,  made 
liim  be  sought  after  everywhere.  One  of  their  agents  at  last 
discovered  his  lodgings,  in  a  miserable  little  chamber,  to 
which  he  was  confined  by  poverty  as  well  as  sickness.  The 
agent  introduced  himself,  and  told  him,  that  a  committee  be- 
ing informed  that  he  had  cause  of  complaint  against  M.  Ber- 
trand,  had  deputed  him  to  receive  his  deposition  against  that 
Minister,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  give  him  the  assistance  of 
which  he  stood  so  much  in  need.  The  agent  accompanied 
these  words  with  a  purse  of  gold,  which  he  laid  upon  the 
table.  Tbis  proposal  awakened  in  the  mind  of  M.  d'Esti- 
mauville  the  sentiments   of  honour  natural   to  him.     Tndig- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  245 

nant  at  being  thought  capable  of  serving  as  an  instrument  of 
hatred  to  the  Jacobins,  he  rejected  their  purse  and  turned  their 
agent  out  of  doors.  He  likewise  gave  a  public  account  of 
the  affair,  in  a  letter  to  the  President  of  the  National  As- 
sembly, which  was  inserted  in  several  journals  in  January  and 
February,  1792. 

This  conduct,  which  was  so  much  the  more  commendable, 
as  it  was  really  dangerous,  interested  all  persons  of  honour 
in  his  favour,  and  procured  him  assistance  which  he  might 
accept  without  blushing. 

This  increased  the  rage  of  the  Jacobins  against  me;  but  the 
more  pains  they  took  to  disturb  my  tranquillity,  the  more  1 
affected  to  be  at  my  ease.  My  house  was  open  to  the  best 
company  twice  a  week.  I  gave  frequent  dinners,  and  some- 
times concerts,  which  began  exactly  at  the  hour  of  the  even- 
ing sitting  of  the  Assembly;  so  that  my  attention  was  en- 
grossed by  harmonious  sounds,  at  the  very  time  when  the  hall 
of  the  Assembly  resounded  with  violent  declamations  against 
me.  These  declamations  often  originated  in  my  own  office, 
where  I  had,  unluckily,  more  than  one  Jacobin;  not  to  men- 
tion the  clerk  Bonjour,  whose  expulsion  would  have  been  one 
of  the  first  acts  of  my  administration,  if  the  King  had  not 
feared  the  consequences  of  such  a  step.  His  Majesty  insisted 
upon  having  it  deferred,  until  I  could  find  the  means  of  dis- 
missing him,  without  exposing  myself  to  danger.  With  a 
view  to  this,  I  devised  a  new  plan  of  arrangement  in  my  of- 
fice, more  economical  than  the  former,  in  which  the  depart- 
ment of  the  funds,  of  which  Bonjour  was  first  clerk,  was  en- 
tirely suppressed.  At  the  same  time,  I  discovered  a  piece 
of  knavery  committed  by  him,  and  of  which  I  had  sufficient 
proofs  to  have  subjected  him  to  shame  and  punishment. 

My  new  plan  of  arrangement  liaving  been  laid  before  the 
Council,  and  signed  by  the  King,  I  delayed  the  execution  un- 


246  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

til  Bonjour's  accounts  for  December  were  examined.  When 
I  had  finished  that  business,  I  informed  him  of  that  part  of 
the  new  plan  in  which  he  was  interested.  The  moment  he 
understood  that  his  department  was  suppressed,  the  most  vio- 
lent indications  of  rage  appeared  in  his  countenance.  He  was 
for  some  time  unable  to  speak;  but  when  he  had  regained 
the  use  of  his  tongue,  he  told  me  "  that  the  King  might,  if 
he  would,  suppress  his  department,  but  that  he  could  not  de- 
prive him  of  his  situation  of  first  clerk,  because  he  was  the 
oldest  clerk  in  the  marine  office,  and  that  he  had  decrees  in 
his  favour,  which  he  knew  how  to  make  advantage  of." 

"  I  hope,"  answered  I,  calmly,  "  that  I  also  know  how  to 
have  the  King's  orders  executed.  I  shall  give  you  notice  of 
them  to-morrow  morning,  at  nine  o'clock.  Don't  fail  to  be  at 
the  office." 

The  next  day  I  went  there,  accompanied  by  two  clerks, 
whom  I  foresaw  I  should  stand  in  need  of.  I  ordered  him, 
in  the  King's  name,  to  give  up  the  titles,  papers,  and  docu- 
ments of  his  department,  and  the  keys  of  all  the  closets, 
presses,  and  other  repositories  of  his  papers.  He  answered, 
with  more  coolness  than  he  had  shown  the  preceding  day,  that 
he  had  consulted  his  friends,  and  lawyers  very  well  informed 
upon  the  subject,  who  had  all  advised  him  not  to  obey  this 
order,  and  that  he  would  act  accordingly.  After  having  in 
vain  endeavoured  to  make  him  hear  reason,  I  drew  up  a 
formal  account  of  his  refusal,  desiring  him  to  dictate,  and 
afterwards  to  sign  his  answers.  This  he  did  accordingly; 
after  which,  I  ordered  that  a  Justice  of  the  Section  should 
be  brought  directly,  to  take  an  inventory  of  all  his  papers, 
and  seal  up  his  repositories,  according  to  the  forms  of  law, 
and  at  the  expense  of  Bonjour.  This  measure,  which  his 
friends,  it  is  probable,  had  not  foreseen,  disconcerted  him 
greatly. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  247 

"  How,  sir  ?  at  my  expense  ?  "  cried  he. 

"Yes,  undoubtedly,  sir.  Don't  imagine  that  the  nation  is 
to  pay  for  your  disobedience." 

"  If  that  is  the  case,  there  are  my  papers  and  my  keys. 
Take  everything,"  said  he. 

"  No,  sir,"  answered  I,  "  I  will  take  nothing ;  but  I  will 
receive  from  you  whatever  the  orders  of  your  Sovereign  shall 
oblige  you  to  put  into  my  hands  " ;  and  I  received,  accordingly, 
all  that  he  had  to  give  up;  and  a  list  was  made,  which  he 
signed. 

This  business,  which  lasted  two  hours,  being  over,  I  pro- 
duced my  proofs  against  him,  and  made  him  acknowledge  the 
writing  before  the  two  clerks,  whom  I  had  brought  with  me. 

"  You  have  made  me,"  said  I,  "  lose  a  great  deal  of  time ; 
and  were  I  to  treat  you  as  you  deserve,  it  should  cost  you 
dear.  The  first  of  these  papers  is  a  memorial  of  yours  to  the 
Marshal  de  Castries,  by  which  you  persuaded  him  to  grant  to 
a  contractor  300,000  livres,  who  asked  600,000,  under  the  false 
pretence  that  he  was  600,000  livres  in  advance  to  Government ; 
Avhilst  the  second,  written  in  your  own  hand,  proves  that  you, 
at  that  time,  knew  the  Government  to  be  500,000  livres  in  ad- 
vance to  him.  He  died,  soon  after,  a  bankrupt;  and  the  Gov- 
ernment lost  800,000  livres  by  your  negligence  or  treachery. 
My  memorial  on  the  subject  is  ready,  which  I  will  address  to  the 
Assembly,  if  you  make  any  complaint  about  your  dismission." 

This  was  enough  for  him;  and  far  from  murmuring,  I 
heard  that  he  everywhere  applauded  the  new  organization  of 
the  Marine  Office;  of  which,  the  greatest  advantage,  in  my 
eyes,  was  the  removal  of  this  worthless  man.  The  same  day 
an  affair  took  place,  which,  although  of  less  importance,  pro- 
duced a  very  good  effect  in  my  office,  and  re-established  the 
subordination  which  the  frenzy  of  the  Kcvolution  had  consid- 
erably weakened. 


248  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

A  young  clerk,  who  had  obtained  a  place  in  the  Marine 
Office,  through  the  interest  of  one  of  the  Queen's  waiting- 
women,  came  and  complained  to  me,  in  a  very  cavalier  man- 
ner, for  not  having  sufficiently  augmented  his  salary,  although 
I  had,  in  reality,  very  nearly  doubled  it. 

"  If  you  are  not  satisfied  with  the  augmentation,"  said  I, 
without  taking  my  eyes  from  the  paper  on  which  I  was  writ- 
ing, "  to  oblige  you,  I  shall  restore  you  to  your  former  salary." 

"  You  seem  to  be  in  Jest,  but  I  am  in  earnest,"  said  he, 
very  impertinently. 

"  Very  well,  sir,"  added  I,  "  then  I  must  inform  you  that 
I  am  in  earnest  also;  and  I  now  tell  you,  very  seriously,  to 
make  use  of  another  style  when  you  speak  to  me,  for  I  will 
not  permit  you  to  continue  that  which  you  have  used." 

"  In  what  style  must  I  speak  to  you,  sir?  we  are  all  citizens. 
I  am  a  free  man,  I  hope." 

"  Yes,  sir,  perfectly  free ;  so  entirely  so,  that  I  now  inform 
you,  that  you  belong  no  more  to  this  office:  so  you  are  free  to 
go  where  you  please;  for  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  I  may  use 
the  freedom  of  dismissing  a  clerk,  with  whom  I  am  dissatis- 
fied." 

He  went  out  threatening  me  that  he  would  hav6  the  Queen 
informed.  "VVhen  I  mentioned  the  afl'air  to  her  Majesty,  she 
declared  that  she  did  not  so  much  as  know  him,  having 
never  before  heard  his  name;  and  that  I  had  done  well  in  dis- 
missing him. 

It  was  to  some  fellows  of  this  stamp,  and  several  of  them 
in  similar  situations,  clerks  and  secretaries,  that  the  greatest 
atrocities  of  the  Revolution  are  to  be  attributed. 

At  the  time  that  I  turned  off  these  two  worthless  fellows, 
I  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  the  respectable  M.  Malezieu, 
whom  I  regretted  the  more,  as  his  death  was  hastened  by 
chagrin    for    the    persecutions    raised    against    me,    which   ho 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.        ^  249 

thought  had  been  occasioned  by  the  numbers  of  conges  (leave 
of  absence)  he  had  persuaded  me  to  grant.  I  in  vain  assured 
him  that  I  had  no  cause  to  reproach  him,  for  I  was  satisfied 
of  the  justice  of  every  act  he  had  ever  proposed  to  me.  But 
the  mortal  blow  was  already  struck,  and  he  fell  a  prey  to  the 
delicacy  and  sensibility  of  his  mind. 


PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Constitutional  Guard  of  the  King. —  Proposals  to  the  King,  respecting 
the  formation  of  his  household. —  The  Treasury  inform  the  King 
that  they  could  no  longer  pay  any  part  of  the  civil  list  in  specie. 
—  My  proposal  to  the  King  for  procuring  money. —  Insubordina- 
tion in  the  ports. —  M.  de  Lajaille  is  assassinated  at  Brest. — 
My  complaint  to  the  Assembly,  and  to  the  Garde  des  Sceatuc,  on 
that  subject. —  A  visit  from  the  President  of  the  Marine  Com- 
mittee.—  The  Committee  determine  upon  a  decree  of  accusation 
against  me. —  I  am  acquainted  with  this  at  midnight. —  Shameful 
conduct  of  the  Intendant  of  the  Navy  at  Brest. 

As  Bonjour's  treachery  to  M.  de  Fleurieu  had  not  been  pun- 
ished, but,  on  the  contrary,  had  obliged  M.  Thevenard  to  be 
more  attentive  to  him  than  he  would  otherwise  have  been, 
the  expulsion  of  that  clerk  was  considered  as  an  act  of  re- 
markable boldness.  The  King  and  Queen,  however,  expressed 
their  satisfaction.  I  was  congratulated  upon  it  as  a  victory 
by  many  of  my  friends,  and  my  other  clerks  thanked  me  for 
having  freed  them  from  the  disgrace  of  having  so  worthless 
an  associate.  So  much  were  all  ideas  of  courage  and  energy 
lost,  at  this  period,  particularly  in  the  minds  of  the  Minis- 
ters, that  the  slight  merit  of  not  acting  as  a  coward  was  ad- 
mired as  heroism. 

A  short  time  after  the  rising  of  the  first  Assembly,  the 
King  employed  himself  in  forming  a  plan  for  raising  the 
eighteen  hundred  men,  decreed  by  the  Constitution  for  his 
household  troops.  He  deliberated  long  on  the  best  method 
of  executing  this.  The  necessity  of  making  great  sacrifices 
to  popularity  induced  him  to  compose  this  guard  of  officers 
and  soldiers  taken  half  from  the  national  guards,  and  half 
from  the  line:  but  by  a  mistake,  of  which  the  consequences 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  251 

have  been  very  fatal,  instead  of  choosing  that  half,  which 
was  to  be  taken  from  the  national  guards,  out  of  the  body 
of  national  guards  of  Paris,  where  it  was  of  great  importance 
that  he  should  be  popular,  and  where  the  character  of  those 
chosen  could  be  better  known,  his  Majesty  was  prevailed  upon 
to  allow  a  certain  number  to  be  named  by  each  department  of 
France.  The  effect  was,  that  those  departments  where  men 
of  worth  presided,  sent  very  good  men;  but  others  sent  a  set 
of  worthless  fellows,  who,  soon  after  their  arrival  at  Paris, 
were  received  in  the  Jacobin  Club,  where  they  were  prompted 
to  make  daily  accusations,  ridiculous  in  reality,  but  very  fit 
to  excite  the  people  against  their  comrades  of  the  King's 
guard,  which  at  length  brought  about  the  fatal  decree  of  the 
30th  of  May,  by  which  the  whole  body  of  the  King's  house- 
hold troops  were  dismissed,  and  their  commander,  the  Duke  of 
Brissac,  accused  and  sent  prisoner  to  Orleans. 

The  formation  of  these  household  troops  excited  the  most 
lively  jealousy  among  the  national  guards  at  Paris.  Contin- 
ual disputes  occurred  between  the  two  corps,  which  would 
certainly  have  occasioned  bloodshed,  had  not  the  King  or- 
dained that  they  should  do  duty  at  the  palace  alternately ; 
assuring  them,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  highest  proof  they 
could  give  him  of  their  attachment  would  be  to  live  amicably 
together.  The  new  guard  did  everything  in  their  power  to 
cement  a  union,  so  necessary  to  the  safety  of  the  royal  fam- 
ily: but  it  happened  too  often  that  some  of  the  national 
guards,  more  envious  or  irritable  than  the  rest,  complained 
that  the  King  and  Queen  spoke  oftener,  and  with  more  com- 
placency, to  the  new  guards  than  to  them.  The  constraint 
and  vexation  which  their  Majesties  must  have  suffered,  from 
those  despicable  disputes  and  quarrels,  may  be  easily  con- 
ceived. 

The  emigration  of  the  principal  civil  officers  of  the  house- 


252  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

hold  made  it  to  be  expected,  that  the  installation  of  the  guards 
would  be  followed  by  a  new  civil  arrangement  in  the  Court. 
It  was  supposed  that  the  King,  from  a  desire  of  conciliating 
the  minds  of  the  people,  would  form  this  establishment  in 
the  most  popular  manner.  All  those  persons,  of  the  one  sex 
as  well  as  the  other,  who  flattered  themselves  with  some  situ- 
ation in  the  household,  were  continually  teasing  the  Ministers 
to  prevail  on  the  King  and  Queen  to  conclude  that  business, 
each  of  them  hinting,  that  their  being  appointed  would  give 
general  satisfaction,  and  greatly  promote  the  King's  popu- 
larity. 

Convinced,  as  I  was,  that  the  only  permanent  popularity 
which  the  King  could  acquire  must  arise  from  a  vigorous 
conduct,  I  declined  all  interference  in  this  affair:  but  the 
other  Ministers  insisted  so  much  upon  it  in  the  Council,  that 
the  King  was  at  last  obliged  to  explain  himself.  He  ex- 
pressed neither  a  great  desire  to  complete  his  household,  nor 
an  unwillingness,  but  only  observed,  that  the  thing  appeared 
to  him  extremely  delicate  as  well  as  difficult. 

"  I  feel,"  said  he,  "  that  the  Queen  cannot,  without  incon- 
veniency,  retain  the  wives  of  the  emigres  about  her,  and  I 
have  already  spoken  to  her  upon  the  subject:  but  it  cannot  be 
expected  that  she  is  to  form  her  society  of  Madame  Petion, 
Madame  Condorcet,  and  women  of  that  stamp.  With  respect 
to  myself,  those  whose  services  were  most  agreeable  to  me, 
have  deserted  me;  and  amongst  those  who  remain,  there  are 
some  who  are  the  torment  of  my  life:  for  instance,  there  is 
Chauvelin,^  who  is  a  spy  in  my  family,  always  commenting 

1  Bernard  Francois,  Marquis  de  Cliauvelin,  was  the  son  of  a  dig- 
tinguished  officer  and  diplomatist  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XV. 

He  was  attached  for  several  years  to  the  Court  of  Louis  XVI.  as 
Master  of  the  Wardrobe.  As  stated  in  the  text  he  was  sent  as 
Ambassador  to  England,  accompanied  by  Talleyrand,  a  position  which 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  253 

upon  what  is  said,  and  giving  a  false  account  of  all  that 
passes.'' 

"  Why,  then  does  not  your  Majesty  dismiss  him  ?  "  said  I. 

"  From  regard  to  his  father's  memory,"  answered  his  Maj- 
esty. 

After  the  council  was  over,  I  proposed,  that,  since  M.  de 
Chauvelin  acted  in  a  manner  so  reprehensible,  his  Majesty 
might  dismiss  him  directly  from  his  service;  explaining  the 
motives  in  the  letter  by  M'hich  he  signified  to  him  his  dismis- 
sion; and  that  if  M.  de  Chauvelin  should  give  himself  any 
airs  on  the  occasion,  the  King's  letter  might  be  published  in 
the  newspapers.  But  this  measure  was  too  severe  for  the 
King;  and  he  soon  after  got  rid  of  M.  de  Chauvelin,  by  send- 
ing liim  as  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  England,  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Abbe  Talleyrand  de  Perigod,  Bishop  of  Autun, 
who  was,  in  reality,  the  confidential  Minister,  although,  from 
particular  circumstances,  he  could  not,  with  propriety,  appear 
at  the  British  Court. 

With  regard  to  the  household  establishment,  the  King  dex- 
terously avoided  giving  a  definitive  answer,  by  ordering  each 
of  the  Ministers  to  draw  up  a  separate  plan  for  the  regulation 
of  his  house,  and  that  of  the  Queen ;  and  also  a  list  of  the  per- 
sons whom  they  judged  proper  to  fill  the  different  places. 

The  Ministers  agreed  to  postpone  this  discussion,  until  al- 
manacks could  be  procured  of  the  principal  courts  of  Europe, 
from  which  they  might  form  a  plan  for  the  new  establish- 

he  held  until  the  execution  of  the  King  terminated  his  mission.  His 
after  career  was  reputable  but  not  especially  brilliant. 

He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Tribunal  on  its  creation  in 
December  1799.  Subsequently  he  was  nominated  to  a  Prefecture, 
and  in  1810  to  a  seat  in  the  Council  of  State.  After  the  Restoration 
he  sat,  always  as  a  member  of  the  Left,  in  several  successive  Chambers 
between  1817  and  1829.     He  died  at  tht  age  of  66,  in  April  1832. 


254  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

ment;  and  by  this  means  the  King  gained  time,  which  was 
his  aim. 

The  fund  of  the  civil  list  was  divided  into  twelve  equal 
payments,  and  placed  in  the  chest  of  M.  Tourteau  de  Sep- 
teuil,  who  was  at  once  the  King's  valet  de  chamhre  and  treas- 
urer of  the  civil  list.  These  payments  were  made  in  assig- 
nats,  except  the  sum  of  seventy-five  thousand  livres,  which 
the  King  desired  he  might  receive  in  specie;  but  at  the  end 
of  November  1791,  the  Commissioners  of  the  National  Treas- 
ury informed  M.  Septeuil,  that  upon  account  of  the  extreme 
scarcity  of  money,  they  could  no  longer  give  the  above  sum 
to  his  Majesty  in  specie;  and  that  it  must  in  future  be  paid 
in  assignats. 

The  King  mentioned  this  in  Council,  and  appeared  much 
affected  at  the  thought  that  it  would  not  be  any  longer  in 
his  power  to  pay,  in  specie,  several  expenses  foreign  to  his 
personal  service,  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of  drawing  from 
his  private  purse. 

"  I  can  no  longer,"  said  he,  "  have  ten  louis  at  my  disposal ; 
for  if  it  be  discovered  that  I  endeavour  to  procure  gold,  I 
shall  be  suspected  of  a  project  to  escape.  Perhaps  I  shall 
even  be  accused  of  monopolizing  the  specie  of  the  Kingdom, 
with  a  view  to  depreciate  assignats." 

I  immediately  took  up  my  pen,  and  wrote  the  following 
note,  which  I  put  into  the  King's  hands,  a  moment  before 
the  Council  broke  up: 

"  I  have  a  certain  means  of  procuring  for  the  King,  un- 
known to  any  one,  the  sum  his  Majesty  stands  in  need  of; 
and  I  beg  to  receive  his  orders  on  the  subject." 

After  the  Council  was  over,  the  King  approached  me,  and 
said,  with  a  smile,  "  It  is  well.  Come  and  speak  to  me  to- 
morrow morning." 

The  next  day,  on  entering  the  King's  apartment,  I  read, 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  255 

in  his  countenance,  that  my  proposal  pleased  him.  His  only 
uneasiness  was,  his  fear  of  my  being  exposed  to  danger.  When 
I  had  made  him  easy  on  this  point,  he  expressed  his  satisfac- 
tion for  my  zeal,  and  approved  of  the  plan  I  proposed  for  pro- 
curing the  money. 

"  It  is  not  for  myself  I  want  it,"  said  he,  "  for  my  expenses 
are  paid  in  assignats;  but  it  is  for  old  servants,  whom  I  have 
always  paid  in  money;  also  for  charitable  uses,  and  to  enable 
me  occasionally  to  furnish  the  Queen  and  my  sister  (Madame 
Elizabeth)  with  a  few  louis,  in  exchange  for  their  assignats." 

Before  the  end  of  December,  I  was  happy  in  having  it  in 
my  power  to  inform  the  King  that  I  had  four  thousand  louis 
d'or  at  his  service.  His  Majesty  approved  of  my  bringing 
them  myself,  to  avoid  having  a  third  person  in  the  confidence ; 
and  accordingly  I  went  to  the  palace  several  mornings,  with 
five  hundred  louis  in  my  pocket. 

On  one  of  those  occasions,  I  arrived  just  as  the  King  re- 
turned from  mass;  and  only  thinking  of  getting  rid  of  my 
load,  I  went  up  to  his  Majesty,  and  begged  his  permission  to 
follow  him;  the  King  looked  at  me,  and  after  a  moment's 
liesitation,  answered,  "  Yes,  certainly,  come." 

This  answer  was  heard  by  several  persons  who  were  in  the 
Council  chamber,  who  smiled,  and  bowed  their  head  to  me  in 
a  complimentary  manner,  for  which  I  could  not  guess  a  rea- 
son. The  Marshal  de  Noailles,  who  was  present,  said  to  me, 
taking  me  by  the  hand,  "  I  congratulate  you." 

"  Upon  what.  Marshal  ?  "  replied  I. 

"  Upon  the  King's  granting  you  the  entree  into  his  chamber." 

"  Why  I  enter  every  day,"  returned  I. 

"  What,  when  the  King  is  dressing  ?  " 

"No,"  said   I;   "but—" 

"  Well,"  interrupted  he,  "  in  that  case  I  repeat  my  congrat- 
ulations; for  at  this  hour  no  one  is  admitted  to  the  King, 


256  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OP 

except  the  officers  of  the  wardrobe,  and  a  few  particular  friends 
to  whom  he  grants  the  favour ;  which,  once  obtained,  is  always 
continued." 

"  If  that  be  the  case,"  said  I,  "  as  I  have  to  speak  to  the 
King,  I  will  wait  till  he  is  dressed." 

I  accordingly  did  so,  in  spite  of  the  Marshal's  advice  to 
the  contrary,  that  the  King  might  not  suppose  that  I  took 
advantage  of  the  service  I  rendered  him,  to  gain  any  favour 
whatever;  but  when  he  was  dressed,  and  everybody  had  left 
the  apartment,  I  desired  the  chief  valet  to  inform  his  Majesty 
that  I  waited  his  orders.  As  soon  as  I  entered,  the  King  in- 
quired what  had  become  of  me,  and  told  me  that  he  imagined 
I  was  following  him.  I  answered,  that  when  I  requested  an 
audience,  I  had  not  recollected  that  it  was  the  hour  of  his 
toilette;  but  seeing  his  Majesty  was  going  to  dress,  I  chose 
to  wait  until  it  was  over. 

"  What,  are  you  afraid  of  the  powder  ?  "  said  he,  smiling. 

Without  making  any  answer,  I  laid  the  louis  on  the  table, 
and  soon  after  withdrew. 

Meanwhile,  in  spite  of  my  exertions,  insubordination  and 
disorder  made  a  rapid  progress  in  the  seaports,  particularly 
at  Brest,  where  the  Intendant  of  Marine,  M.  Beaupreau,  be- 
ing one  of  the  principal  members  of  the  Jacobin  Club,  regu- 
larly communicated  to  that  society  all  the  letters  he  received 
from  the  Minister. 

The  nomination  of  M.  de  La  Jaille  to  the  command  of  one 
of  the  vessels,  destined  to  carry  succour  to  St.  Domingo,  occa- 
sioned great  disturbances  at  Brest.  That  distinguished  offi- 
cer was  assaulted  by  a  mob  of  more  than  three  thousand  per- 
sons. He  received  several  wounds,  and  owed  his  life  to  the 
courage  of  an  honest  and  vigorous  pork-merchant,  who  in- 
terposed in  his  behalf;  and  by  their  mutual  efforts  they  de- 
fended themselves  till  the  guard  came  and  relieved  them  both. 


Letter  of  Queen  Marie  Antoinette  on  the  birth  of  her  second  son, 
Louis  Charles,  afterwards  Louis  XVII,  born  27  March  1785, 
died  8  June  1795. 

I  HAVE  heard,  Monsieur,  from  Madame  de  Tourzel,  of  the  part 
which  you  have  taken  in  the  public  rejoicings  over  the  happy 
event  which  has  given  to  France  an  heir  to  the  crown.  I  thank 
God  for  his  goodness  in  fulfilling  my  hopes,  and  rejoice  in  the 
thought  that  if  He  deigns  to  preserve  to  us  this  sweet  child,  he 
will  one  day  become  the  glory  and  the  delight  of  these  good 
people.  I  am  grateful  for  the  sentiments  which  you  have  ex- 
pressed in  these  circumstances.  They  have  recalled  to  me  with 
pleasure  the  sentiments  which  you  inspired  in  me  in  old  days 
when  I  was  at  home  with  my  mother. 

I  assure  you.  Monsieur  le  Due,  that  since  that  time  my  feelings 
towards  you  have  never  varied  and  that  no  one  more  eagerly 
desires  to  convince  you  of  their  sincerity  than 

Marie  Antoinette. 

Veksailles,  this  15  April  (1782  or  1785). 


^U  >  I    11)  c\    j^ttif  yei^oti-    cciiWCe  into    -uc^eiiX    tl 
uott:}    ;7?^2/e^  eLix/rt/oi:>   in:>pire^:f  c/cy  -n^a  -tntre ^ 

5  V .  /     ^^  -/  ^ 

onarit  ankincftl 


tn     cC'^-ivaiiixe^r  t     e/Ht 


ytr,cn//c^    ct   .fai^r,/ 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  25T 

The  Municipality  of  Brest  found  no  other  means  of  saving 
M.  de  La  Jaille  than  that  of  throwing  him  into  prison,  and 
giving  hopes  to  the  atrocious  villains,  who  thirsted  for  his 
blood,  that  this  aristocrat  would  be  brought  to  justice;  for 
aristocracy  was  the  only  crime  that  was  laid  to  his  charge. 

Upon  the  account  which  I  gave  in  Council  of  this  unhappy 
aifair,  it  was  decreed,  that  immediate  orders  should  be  given 
to  the  municipality  for  the  enlargement  of  M.  de  La  Jaille, 
and  the  prosecution  of  the  authors  of  the  riot,  which  had 
taken  place  in  open  day,  and  of  which  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Brest  were  witnesses.  The  King  also  desired  to  see  the  brave 
pork-merchant  who  had  saved  M.  de  La  Jaille's  life,  and  or- 
dered the  Minister  of  the  Interior  to  write  to  him  to  come  to 
Paris.  A  few  days  after  this  brave  and  worthy  fellow  arrived, 
and  desired  no  other  reward  than  the  honour  of  being  pre- 
sented to  the  King.  His  Majesty  gave  him  a  very  fine  sabre, 
and  a  gold  medal,  upon  which  was  engraved,  "  Given  hy  the 
King  to  I'Auverjeat,  porTc-mer chant,  at  Brest,  as  a  reward  for 
the  generous  intrepidity  with  which  he  exposed  his  life  to 
save  that  of  a  fellow-citizen." 

The  orders  given  by  the  Minister  of  Justice  remained  un- 
executed. M.  de  La  Jaille  was  still  in  prison,  under  pre- 
tence that  his  being  set  at  liberty  would  endanger  his  life; 
and  the  members  of  the  Tribunal  of  Justice,  apprehending 
that  the  prosecution  of  the  rioters  would  occasion  an  attack 
against  themselves,  had  not  yet  ventured  to  commence  the 
process.  I  in  vain  represented  in  Council,  and  in  the  Assem- 
bly, that  the  impunity  with  which  such  crimes  were  committed 
was  the  motive  upon  which  the  officers  of  the  Navy  founded 
their  refusal  of  taking  any  command.  When  I  gave  an  ac- 
count of  this  fact  in  Council,  M.  de  Narbonne  took  me  up  in 
the  following  terms:  "Do  all  the  officers  refuse?  Am  I  to 
understand,  that  if  we  had  any  uneasiness  with  respect  to  the 
Vol.  1—17 


258  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OP 

disposition  of  England,  and  that  I  demanded  a  frigate  of 
you,  to  cruise  along  our  coast,  you  could  not  furnish  it  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  frigates  that  we  are  in  want  of,"  answered  I ; 
"  but  at  this  moment  I  should  be  greatly  at  a  loss  to  find  an 
officer  to  coramand  it." 

I  only  mention  this  circumstance,  because  of  the  interpreta- 
tion which  M.  de  Narbonne  afterwards  put  upon  my  answer, 
as  will  hereafter  appear. 

It  was  upon  this  same  occasion  that  I  importuned  the  Garde 
des  Sceaux  to  take  vigorous  measures  against  the  judges  of 
Brest;  namely,  to  punish  them,  or  at  least  dismiss  them,  if 
they  delayed  any  longer  to  render  justice  to  M.  de  La  Jaille. 
He  answered,  that  in  the  present  circumstances  we  must  use 
great  circumspection  and  address;  because,  if  we  pretended 
to  adliere  strictly  to  the  letter  of  the  Constitution,  we  should 
soon  find  ourselves  gravelled. 

"  I  know  nothing  of  that,"  said  I,  "  nor  will  I  enter  into 
any  discussion  on  that  point;  but  this  I  do  know  perfectly, 
that  we  have  no  right  to  attempt  to  modify  or  reconstrue  the 
Constitution;  our  duty  is  to  endeavour  to  execute  it  precisely 
as  it  is,  because  without  this  we  can  never  make  it  fully 
known  and  understood  by  the  nation;  and  therefore  if  there 
really  is  any  gravel  in  the  Constitution,  the  best  thing  we 
can  do  is  to  make  it  manifest  to  the  whole  nation,  that  those 
who  have  a  right  may  apply  the  proper  remedies,  or  make 
the  necessary  alterations.  After  each  Minister  has  for  some 
time  followed  this  plan  in  his  own  Department,  we  may  some 
day  go  all  together  to  the  National  Assembly,  and  lay  open 
our  conduct  before  them,  informing  them  of  the  efforts  we 
have  made  to  execute  the  Constitution  literally;  and  that  not- 
withstanding our  having  used  all  the  legal  means  in  our 
power,  we  still  had  found  some  insurmountable  obstacle,  from 
which  it  would  be  apparent  that  the  execution  of  the  Consti- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  259 

tution  was  impossible  in  some  cases,  and  in  others,  that  it 
would  be  pernicious.  Depend  upon  it,"  continued  I,  "  the 
Assembly,  or  at  least  the  nation  at  large,  would  thank  us  for 
having  made  tliis  discovery,  and  consider  us  as  worthy,  up- 
right Ministers,  and  true  patriots." 

"  Yes,"  rejoined  the  Garde  des  Sceawc,  "  but  by  that  means 
we  shall  raise  against  us  all  the  Constitutionalists,  the  Jaco- 
bins, the  clubs,  and  we  shall  have  another  revolution,  worse 
perhaps  than  the  present  one." 

"  Another  revolution  we  may  have,"  said  I ;  "  but  one  worse 
than  the  present  is  impossible.  Of  this  I  am  so  convinced, 
that  I  am  determined  not  to  deviate  one  step  from  the  course 
that  I  have  mentioned  to  you." 

In  the  first  discourse  which  I  pronounced  to  the  Assembly 
in  the  end  of  October  1791,  I  announced,  that  I  would  not 
begin  the  execution  of  the  general  plan,  until  all  the  decrees 
were  passed  respecting  the  particular  laws  by  which  my  ad- 
ministration was  to  be  regulated.  The  motive  I  alleged  for 
this  determination  was  the  importance  of  preventing  the  con- 
fusion and  inconveniences  attending  an  incomplete  organiza- 
tion, from  creating  any  prejudice  against  the  new  regula- 
tions. It  could  not  be  doubted  but  that  this  was  the  opinion 
of  the  Assembly,  after  the  applause  which  was  given  to  this 
part  of  my  discourse. 

I  waited  with  great  tranquillity  for  the  above-mentioned 
decrees,  which  the  Committee  of  the  Navy,  solely  occupied  in 
finding  occasions  to  blame  me,  were  never  thinking  of.  They 
seemed  to  have  entirely  forgotten  the  necessity  of  such  decrees. 

I  always  kept  up  the  same  reserve  with  the  Committee, 
never  going  there,  and  avoiding  all  correspondence  with  it; 
and  even  when  I  received  a  letter  from  thence,  which  required 
any  necessary  information,  instead  of  answering  the  President 
of  the  Committee,  I  addressed  my  explanation  to  the  Presi- 


260  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

dent  of  the  Assembly,  as  if  I  gave  it  of  my  own  accord,  and 
taking  no  notice  of  its  being  demanded  by  the  Committee. 
Those  gentlemen  were  enraged  at  this  conduct,  at  the  same 
time  they  could  not  complain,  as  that  would  have  been  re- 
proaching me  for  my  too  great  fidelity  to  the  Constitution. 
They  one  day  sent  their  President  to  me,  upon  an  affair  which 
greatly  interested  him.  He  had  himself  announced  by  the 
title  of  President  of  the  Committee  of  the  Navy. 

"  I  know  no  such  person,"  said  I,  aloud  to  the  footman 
who  announced  him.  "  Do  you  know  if  the  gentleman  is  a 
member  of  the  Assembly  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  "Well,  if  that  be  the  case,  announce  him  by  his  name." 

This  order  was  punctually  obeyed,  and  rather  disconcerted 
the  President,  who  was  near  enough  to  the  door  to  hear  what 
I  said. 

"  You  know,  sir,"  said  I  to  him,  "  that  the  Constitution 
does  not  authorize  us  to  have  any  communication  with  the 
Committees,  consequently  you  cannot  be  offended  with  my 
precision  upon  this  occasion.  You  are  a  member  of  the  As- 
sembly; in  that  quality  my  house  is  open  to  you,  and  I  shall 
be  always  ready  to  attend  to  whatever  you  may  have  to  com- 
municate.' 

"  I  imagined,"  said  he,  "  that  as  your  colleagues  — " 

"  My  colleagues,"  interrupted  I,  "  have  undoubtedly  good 
reasons  for  acting  as  they  do,  but  for  my  own  part,  I  have 
none  to  deviate  from  the  Constitution :  but  I  shall  be  ready 
to  attend  to  you  with  the  same  attention  and  interest  as  if  you 
were  President  of  all  the  Committees  of  the  Asseml^ly." 

"  I  came  to  speak  to  you,  sir,"  said  he,  "  respecting  the 
various  offers  which  have  been  made  for  provisions  for  the 
Navy.     I  presume  you  intend  to  finish  that  business." 

"  Not  yet.     It  is  much  less  pressing  than  many  others,  be- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  261 

cause  there  is  already  a  board  of  Commissioners,  to  whom 
that  business  is  entrusted,  who  execute  their  duty  very  well." 

"  I  mentioned  this,"  resumed  he,  "  only  because  we  are 
flooded  with  offers  from  various  companies,  desirous  of  that 
undertaking,  and  whose  proposals  seem  advantageous." 

"  As  that  regards  me  only,"  said  I,  "  you  may  easily  get 
rid  of  their  importunity,  by  sending  them  to  me.  With  re- 
spect to  their  proposals,  when  we  are  ready  for  determining, 
we  shall  consider  which  is  the  most  advantageous:  but  this  I 
am  certain  of  already,  that  some  are  of  a  disgraceful  nature, 
some  hints  having  been  given  very  much  resembling  bribes, 
such  as  allowing  a  considerable  share  in  the  profits,  without 
any  advance  of  money,  to  some  of  my  friends  or  relations. 
I  mention  this,  in  the  full  conviction  that  you  highly  disap- 
prove of  everything  of  this  kind;  and  that  if  the  same  in- 
sulting proposals  had  been  made  to  any  member  of  the  Assem- 
bly, they  would  have  rejected  them  with  the  same  indignation 
that  I  have  done." 

He  appeared  to  me  to  deserve  this  compliment,  for  he  really 
had  the  countenance  of  an  honest  man:  but  I  was  far  from 
having  the  same  opinion  of  all  his  colleagues,  and  particularly 
of  the  members  of  the  Committee  of  the  Navy.  I  ought, 
however,  to  acknowledge,  that  there  were  men  of  probity 
amongst  them,  who,  without  having  any  personal  acquaintance 
with  me,  always  took  my  part,  and  had  the  candour  to  convey 
to  me  all  the  intelligence  which  they  believed  could  be  of  any 
use. 

Some  time  after,  I  was  informed,  in  the  middle  of  the  night, 
that  the  account  of  my  conversation  with  the  President  had 
greatly  exasperated  the  majority  of  the  Committee  against  me. 
They  considered  my  postponing  the  decision  on  the  various 
proposals  above-mentioned  as  a  proof  of  unwillingness  to  exe- 
cute the  Constitution,  and  of  an  inclination  to  overturn  the 


262  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

present  system  of  the  Marine  Department;  in  consequence 
of  which  the  Committee  had  hastily  agreed  on  the  principal 
articles  of  a  report,  to  be  laid  next  day  before  the  Assembly, 
as  the  foundation  of  a  decree  of  accusation  against  me. 

I  knew  too  well  the  dispositions  of  the  Assembly,  with  re- 
gard to  me,  not  to  apprehend  that  this  report  would  be  agreed 
upon  without  my  being  heard;  and  the  decree  of  accusation 
once  passed,  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  have  obtained  the 
revocation.  It  was  therefore  more  prudent  to  prevent  the  re- 
port from  being  made ;  and  I  gained  this  point  by  easy  means. 
I  immediately  wrote  a  letter  to  the  President  of  the  Assem- 
bly, in  which  I  complained  bitterly  that  none  of  the  decrees 
were  passed  which  I  stood  in  need  of,  to  terminate  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Marine  Department,  although  I  had  given  a  sketch 
of  those  decrees  in  my  discourse  pronounced  last  October,  and 
that  the  Assembly  had  acknowledged  the  necessity  of  passing 
them,  before  the  new  regulations  of  the  Navy  could  be  made; 
and  I  expressed  myself  particularly  hurt,  as  those  who  were 
unacquainted  with  this  circumstance  would  impute  the  delay 
given  to  the  measures  entirely  to  my  want  of  diligence. 

This  letter,  which  was  read  in  the  Assembly  at  the  moment 
when  the  Committee  of  Marine  were  going  to  make  the  report, 
in  order  to  found  the  decree  of  accusation  against  me,  entirely 
disconcerted  the  orator  and  his  adlierents.  Their  declama- 
tions, and  the  steps  they  had  taken  to  insure  the  majority 
of  votes  were  rendered  thoroughly  ridiculous. 

They  revenged  themselves  a  few  days  later,  by  having  it  de- 
creed, that  whereas  the  reading  of  letters  from  the  Ministers 
in  the  Assembly  occasioned  much  loss  of  time,  henceforth  they 
should  be  laid  before  the  Committee,  which  would  only  give 
an  account  of  such  as  w^ere  of  sufficient  consequence  to  merit 
the  attention  of  the  Assembly. 

This  decree,  by  which  they  flattered  themselves  they  should 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  263 

have  the  power  of  weakening  or  suppressing,  at  pleasure,  our 
means  of  defence,  gave  me  no  uneasiness,  because  the  Minis- 
ters always  retained  the  right  of  speaking  in  the  Assembly, 
by  which  I  expected  to  be  able  to  repel  the  attacks  made 
against  me. 

This  continual  warfare  would  only  have  been  an  amuse- 
ment to  the  Ministers,  if  they  had  not  been  more  scrupulous 
than  their  enemies  in  the  means  of  defence  they  employed: 
but  the  practice  peculiar  to  the  Jacobins,  of  pursuing,  with- 
out hesitation,  the  most  criminal  paths,  when  necessary  to 
gain  their  end,  gave  them  an  advantage  which  men  of  princi- 
ple had  no  means  of  resisting. 

"  You  have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  aristocrats,"  said 
Mirabeau,  one  day,  to  his  adherents ;  "  they  neither  pillage, 
burn,  nor  assassinate.  "What,  then,  can  they  do  against  you? 
Let  them  go  on  with  their  declamations;  their  fate  is  sealed." 

Mirabeau  was  certainly  in  the  right.  He  might  also  have 
added,  that  men  of  probity  would  not  permit  their  worst  ene- 
mies to  be  assassinated,  even  when  it  could  not  be  imputed  to 
them,  to  have  promoted  or  countenanced  the  crime  in  any 
way. 

This  was  what  the  Intendant  of  Brest  experienced  on  a 
remarkable  occasion,  which  I  cannot  pass  over  in  silence.  To- 
wards the  end  of  the  year  1791,  at  the  time  of  the  arma- 
ment destined  to  carry  succour  to  St.  Domingo,  Eedon  de 
Bcaupreau,  Intendant  of  Brest,  sent  me,  according  to  cus- 
tom, a  list  of  persons,  whom  he  recommended  as  civil  offi- 
cials in  the  expedition.  I  was  much  surprised  to  find  in 
this  list  the  name  of  Bellanger,  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Jaco- 
bin Club,  who  had  figured  in  all  the  insurrections  at  Brest, 
and  promoted  the  assassinations.  Beaupreau  himself,  in  tlie 
notes  which  he  addressed,  six  months  before,  to  my  prede- 
cessor, had  always  represented  this  Bellanger  as  a  most  atro- 


264  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

cious  character,  whom  he  intended  to  turn  out  of  his  office,  as 
soon  as  it  could  be  done  without  danger.  I  did  not  hesitate 
to  efface  Bellanger's  name  from  the  list  of  civil  officers;  and 
when  I  announced  this  to  Beaupreau,  I  took  care  to  let  him 
know  that  it  was  the  note  he  sent  to  my  predecessor,  of  which 
I  gave  him  the  extract,  which  had  determined  me. 

I  had  no  doubt  but  that  my  letter  would  throw  Beaupreau 
into  great  embarrassment,  but  I  had  no  idea  that  it  would 
expose  him  to  be  assassinated;  and  I  was  surprised,  by  a 
letter  I  received  from  M.  de  Marigni,  who  commanded  the 
Navy  at  Brest,  and  who  had  the  goodness  to  transmit  to  me 
the  humble  and  pressing  supplications,  which  Beaupreau  did 
not  dare  to  send  me  himself,  upon  Bellanger's  name  being 
effaced  from  the  list. 

M.  de  Marigni  informed  me,  that  the  life  of  Beaupreau  was 
in  my  hands,  as  Bellanger  would  cause  him  to  be  assassinated, 
as  soon  as  he  was  informed  of  my  motive  for  refusing  to  ap- 
point him.  And  although  M.  de  Marigni  had  been  the  ob- 
ject of  the  Intendant's  persecution  from  the  commencement 
of  the  Kevolution,  he  had  the  generosity  to  intercede  for  his 
enemy,  and  solicit  me  to  replace  the  name  of  Bellanger  in 
the  list. 

Beaupreau  also  employed  in  this  mediation  M.  Pouget,  an 
ancient  Intendant  of  the  ISTavy,  of  great  merit,  in  whom  he 
knew  I  had  much  confidence.  The  letter  which  Beaupreau 
wrote  to  him  upon  this  occasion  was  full  of  protestations  of 
repentance  for  what  he  termed  past  errors,  and  assurances  that 
he  would  conduct  himself  better  in  future.  Far  from  retract- 
ing his  word  respecting  Bellanger,  he  added,  "that  he  was 
a  monster  who  deserved  to  be  hanged:  but  that  he  had  in- 
cluded him  in  the  list  of  civil  officers  to  get  rid  of  him  from 
Brest,  where  his  patriotic  frenzy  occasioned  the  greatest  dis- 
order, and  he  was  in  hopes,  that  aboard  whatever  vessel  he 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  265 

was  employed,  his  conduct  would  be  such  that  he  would  be 
tossed  into  the  sea." 

I  should  certainly  have  been  excusable  in  adhering  to  my 
jfirst  determination  of  refusing  to  put  him  again  on  the  list, 
however  fatal  the  consequences  might  have  proved  to  Beau- 
preau;  and  I  might  also  have  deprived  this  Intendant  of  his 
place,  for  his  prevarication  in  recommending  a  person  to  a 
confidential  emplo}Tnent,  whom  he  had  denounced  to  the  Min- 
ister, a  few  months  before,  as  a  wretch  capable  of  every  crime. 
But  as  it  was  impossible,  at  that  period,  to  appoint  a  man 
of  probity  to  his  situation  at  Brest,  without  exposing  him  to 
the  greatest  danger,  I  preferred  saving  the  life  of  Beaupreau, 
although,  in  so  doing,  I  risked  my  responsibility,  by  approv- 
ing the  appointment  of  a  villain  like  Bellanger. 


PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Bad  success  of  the  last  naval  promotions. —  Resignation  of  almost  all 
the  officers. —  The  Duke  of  Orleans  accepts  the  rank  of  admiral. 

—  Sentiments  he  expressed  to  me  upon  the  occasion. —  He  waits 
upon  the  King. —  He  returns  to  the  palace  the  Sunday  following, 
and  is  insulted. —  The  Count  d'Estaing  accepts  of  the  rank  of 
admiral,  with  restrictions. —  His  ridiculous  demands  and  conduct. 

—  The  deputy  Rouyer  protects  him. —  Letter  of  Rouyer  to  the 
King. —  M.  de  Peynier,  after  having  accepted  the  new  rank  with 
which  he  was  invested,  refuses  the  command  of  the  Navy  at 
Brest,  and  gives  in  his  resignation. 

The  promotion  made  by  M.  Tlievenard  did  not  give  satis- 
faction in  the  Xavy.  I  never  expected  it  would.  How  could 
it  be  imagined  that  brave  officers,  accustomed  to  the  respect 
of  the  sailors,  and  to  have  their  orders  obeyed  with  submis- 
sion, should  ever  consent  to  become  the  instruments  of  their 
own  degradatioii?  The  profession  which  had  been  honoured 
by  their  talents  and  their  courage  had  now  nothing  to  offer 
but  dangers  without  glory,  and  service  without  utility,  since 
disobedience  and  revolt  were  not  only  tolerated,  but  encour- 
aged and  regarded  as  marks  of  patriotism.  Accordingly  al- 
most all  the  officers  sent  me  their  resignation,  upon  the  re- 
ceipt of  my  letter  announcing  their  promotion.  The  Duke  of 
Orleans  and  the  Count  d'Estaing  ^  were  amongst  the  few  ex- 
ceptions. 

1  Admiral  Count  Charles  Louis  Hector  d'Estaing,  who  had  a  dis- 
tinguished part  in  the  American  War  of  Independence  and  had  sub- 
sequently commanded  the  National  Guard  of  Versailles,  was  now 
64  years  of  age. 

In  February  1792,  he  did  not  accept  unconditionally  the  appoint- 
ment of  Admiral  under  the  new  scheme  of  Naval  organization.     He 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  267 

The  Duke  of  Orleans  ^  was  not  satisfied  with  writing  to 
me  that  he  had  accepted  the  rank  of  Admiral;  he  likewise 
paid  me  a  visit;  and,  amongst  other  matters,  he  assured  me, 
that  he  set  the  higher  value  upon  the  .favour  which  the  King 
had  conferred  on  him,  because  it  gave  him  the  means  of  con- 
vincing his  Majesty  how  much  his  sentiments  had  been  calum- 
niated.    This   declaration  was   made  with  an  air   of   great 

asked  rather  for  military  rank,  pleading  that  he  could  be  more 
useful  to  the  country  on  shore  than  at  sea. 

He  was  granted  by  the  Legislative  Assembly,  on  the  Gth  March 
1792,  the  honorary  rank  of  Admiral,  without  prejudice  to  any  military 
command  which  might  be  in  future  bestowed  upon  him.  He  never 
commanded  again  either  at  sea  or  on  land.  He  was  summoned  as 
a  witness  during  the  trial  of  Marie  Antoinette  and  behaved  with 
propriety  in  giving  his  evidence  on  the  invasion  of  Versailles  by 
the  Paris  mob  in  October  1789,  which  was  attributed  as  a  crime 
to  the  Queen,  as  indeed  was  every  other  suffering  she  had  endured. 
Consequently  he  was  himself  sent  before  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal 
as  one  of  a  "  batch  "  of  thirty-three  persons,  of  both  sexes,  of  all 
ages  and  of  all  ranks,  from  a  Duke  to  a  tobacconist,  all  charged  in 
the  same  indictment  as  being  accomplices  in  the  plots  of  the  traitor 
Capet  and  Marie  Antoinette.  He  was  guillotined  with  the  other 
victims  on  the  28th  April    1794. 

2  In  making  any  attempt  to  judge  of  the  sinister  part  played 
by  Louis  Philippe,  Joseph,  Duke  d'Orleans,  during  the  Revolution, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  from  his  earliest  youth,  he  had  been 
brought  up  in  a  sort  of  hereditary  opposition  to  the  King.  Early 
in  his  life  he  adopted,  or  affected,  the  love  of  advanced  opinions 
and  novel  fashions.  From  America  he  imported  attractive  tlieories 
of  emancipation  and  equality;  from  England,  Free-Masonry,  racing 
and  Anglomania  in  general.  In  both  the  Assemblies  of  Notables  in 
1787  and  17S8  he  was  put  forward  to  oppose  the  King  and  his  Min- 
isters, and  he  was  tlie  more  eager  to  do  so  since  ho  was  singularly 
vain  and  dearly  loved  the  adulation  and  popularity  which  opposition 
won  for  him.  At  the  first  meeting  of  tlie  States-General,  while  the 
King  met  with  cold  applause  and  the  Queen  with  none,  the  Duke 
d'Orleans  was  applauded  with  endless  vociferation  and  enthusiasm, 
and  such  applause  was  perhaps  the  only  thing  that  he  had  left  to  care 
for  in  the  world.  It  is  certain  that  he  paid  dearly  for  it  in  money 
as  well  as  in  reputation.  The  question  as  to  exactly  what  part 
Orleans  played  in  tlie  early  days  of  the  Revolution,  is  still  an  open 
one.     He,  himself,   and  only  in   his  forty-second  year,  was  a   blas6. 


268  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

openness  and  sincerity,  and  accompanied  with  the  warmest 
protestations  of  loyalty.  "  I  am  very  unfortunate,"  said  he, 
"without  deserving  to  be  so.  A  thousand  atrocities  have 
been  laid  to  my  charge,  of  which  I  am  completely  innocent. 
I  have  been  supposed  guilty  by  many,  merely  because  I  have 
disdained  to  enter  into  any  justification  of  myself  from  crimes, 

cynical,  prematurely  old  debauch^,  but  he  had  still  an  immense 
fortune  and  lie  was  in  the  hands  of  those  who  knew  how  to  use  it. 
He  was  moreover,  when  not  merely  a  passive  instrument,  ready  to 
go  far  in  his  desire  to  become  Regent  of  the  Kingdom  or  citizen  King, 
such  as  his  son  became  in  1830.  So  far,  in  fact,  as  he  any  longer 
cared  for  fishing,  he  preferred  to  fish  in  dirty  water.  Behind  him 
were  a  powerful  and  unscrupulous  group  of  politicians,  of  widely 
different  spheres  of  influence. 

In  the  Assembly  his  interests  were  in  the  able  hands  of  Adrian 
Duport,  who  exercised  considerable  influence  over  such  members  as 
Barnave  and  the  Laneths  and  who  even  brought  Mirabeau  within 
the  dangerous  circle.  In  speaking  to  Mounier  during  this  brief 
period  of  his  career,  Mirabeau  said,  "  Good  God,  my  dear  man,  who 
said  we  were  not  to  have  a  King?  What  does  it  matter  whether 
his  name  is  Louis  or  Philip?  You  would  not  have  that  brat  (the 
Dauphin)  I  suppose."  In  private  life  the  Duke's  secretary,  Choderlos 
de  Laclos,  was  ever  ready  to  whisper  means  and  measures  of  bring- 
ing popularity  and  promoting  the  flight,  the  death  or  the  deposition, 
of  Louis  XVI. ;  while  in  the  street,  the  Marquis  de  Saint  Huruge, 
"  bull  Huruge "  as  he  was  called,  was  an  ideal  demagogue,  with 
brazen  tliroat  and  lying  tongue,  ready  for  every  riot  and  always  at 
the  head  of  each  as  it  came. 

Thus  in  each  of  the  earlier  outbreaks  of  the  Revolution,  from  the 
pillage  of  Reveillonis  house  to  the  march  to  Versailles,  the  agency 
or  the  wealth  of  the  Duke  can  be  clearly  traced.  No  wonder  that, 
to  use  Mirabeau's  expression,  the  Duke  d'Orleans  became  the  slop 
pail  in  which  is  thrown  all  the  filth  of  the  Revolution.  His  conduct 
during  the  days  of  the  5th  and  6th  October,  above  all  tlie  cowardly 
manner  in  which  he  allowed  himself  to  be  driven  from  France  by 
T^  Fayette  (who  was  too  upright  a  man  not  to  abhor  Orleans  and 
all  his  sycophants  and  followers),  on  a  fictitious  mission  to  England, 
put  an  end  to  his  influence.  Mirabeau  after  this  spoke  of  him  in 
untranslatable  terms   of   contempt. 

Once  more  his  party  tried  to  bring  him  forward.  After  the 
King's  return  from  Varennes,  there  was  a  serious  movement  in 
favour  of  his  dethronement.     The  petition  which  was  designed  to  bo 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  269 

of  which  I  have  a  real  horror.  You  are  the  first  Minister  to 
whom  I  ever  said  as  much,  because  you  are  the  only  one 
whose  character  ever  inspired  me  with  confidence.  You  will 
soon  have  an  opportunity  of  judging  whether  my  conduct 
gives  the  lie  to  my  words." 

He  pronounced  these  last  words  with  a  voice  and  manner 

signed  and  presented  at  the  meeting  of  the  Champs  de  Mai's  on  the 
17th  July  1791,  is  said  to  have  been  drawn  up  b^'  Laclos.  But  at 
the  period  referred  to  by  Bertrand,  it  is  obvious  that  the  Duke  was 
genuinely  anxious  for  a  reconciliation,  which  was  prevented  only 
by  the  violent,  and  under  the  circumstances  criminally  stupid,  insults 
to  which  he  was  subjected  in  the  Tuileries  on  the  1st  January    1792, 

Possibly  with  a  view  to  self-preservation,  or  moved  by  the 
lingering  embers  of  ambition,  Orleans  became  a  candidate  for  election 
to  the  Convention,  and  under  the  patronage  of  Marat,  was  elected 
at  the  foot  of  the  list  of  Jacobin  representatives  for  Paris.  A  few 
days  later  he  found  it  necessary  to  change  the  title  of  d'Orleans,  and 
at  the  suggestion  of  the  Municipality,  he  formally  took  the  name  of 
Philippe  £galit6. 

The  trial  of  Louis  XVI.  followed.  Even  Robespierre  was  heard 
to  say  that  £galit6  was  the  one  member  who  might  fairly  plead 
an  excuse  for  not  voting,  but  there  were  darker  spirits  than 
Robespierre  in  that  Assembly,  and  £galit6,  still  clinging  to  life, 
could  not  abstain.  It  is  very  probable  that  he  thought  that  such 
a  vote  as  he  gave,  would  secure  his  present  safety.  A  man  so  cynical 
as  he,  was  capable  of  thinking  this,  but,  if  he  did,  he  under- 
estimated  the   humanity   of   even   his   Jacobin   colleagues. 

When  he  mounted  the  Tribune  and  declared  "  Solely  concerned  to 
do  my  duty  and  convinced  that  all  those  who  have  in  any  way 
attacked  in  the  past,  or  shall  attack  in  the  future  the  Sovereignty  of 
the  People,  deserves  to  die,  I  vote  for  death,''  instead  of  approving 
shouts  he  heard  only  murmurs  of  loathing  and  horror. 

His  name  hardly  appears  after  this  in  the  Journal  of  the  Con- 
vention. On  the  Gth  April  1793,  a  decree  was  issued  ordering  that 
all  members  of  the  family  of  Bourbon  should  be  detained  as  hos- 
tages for  the  Republic. 

figalitfi  was  arrested  on  the  following  day  and  imprisoned  at  Mar- 
eeilles.  Six  months  later,  he  was  brought  back  to  Paris  and  sent  be- 
fore the  Revolutionary  Tribunal  Gth  November  1793,  charged  with 
having  conspired  with  the  traitors  Mirabeau  and  Dumouriez  and  of 
having  aspired  to  Royalty.  He  defended  himself,  not  without  some 
remnants  of  ability   and   self-respect,  but  his   condemnation   was   of 


270  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OP 

which  convinced  me  he  meant  them  as  an  answer  to  the  air  of 
incredulity  with  which  I  listened  to  him.  I  answered  him, 
that  I  was  so  much  afraid  of  weakening  the  force  of  his  ex- 
pressions, in  reporting  them  to  the  King,  as  he  desired  I 
should,  that  I  begged  of  him  to  deliver  them  himself  to  his 
Majesty.  He  replied,  that  it  was  precisely  what  he  wished; 
and  that  if  he  could  flatter  himself  that  the  King  would  re- 
ceive him,  he  would  go  to  the  Court  next  day. 

I  gave  his  Majesty  an  account,  the  same  evening  at  the 
Council,  of  the  visit  I  had  received  from  the  Duke  of  Orleans, 
and  all  that  had  passed;  adding,  that  I  could  not  help  being 
convinced  of  the  sincerity  of  his  professions.  The  King  re- 
solved to  receive  him,  and  the  following  day  had  a  conversa- 
tion with  him  of  more  than  half  an  hour,  with  which  his 
Majesty  appeared  to  be  well  satisfied. 

"  I  am  of  your  opinion,"  said  he  to  me,  "  that  he  re- 
turns to  us  with  sincerity,  and  that  he  will  do  all  that  depends 
on  him  to  repair  the  mischiefs  which  have  been  committed  in 
his  name,  and  in  which,  very  possibly,  he  has  not  had  so  great 
a  share  as  we  have  suspected." 

The  following  Sunday  (1st  January  1792)  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  came  to  the  King's  levee,  where  he  met  with  the 
most  mortifying  reception  from  the  courtiers,  who  were  igno- 
rant of  what  had  passed,  and  from  the  royalists,  who  usually 
came  on  that  day  to  pay  their  court  to  the  royal  family. 
They  pressed  round  him,  treading  designedly  upon  his  toes, 
and  pushing  him  towards  the  door.  When  he  went  into  the 
Queen's  apartment,  where  the  cloth  was  already  laid,  as  soon 
as  he  appeared,  they  cried  out  on  every  side,  "  Let  nobody  ap- 
proach the  dishes,"  insinuating  that  he  might  throw  poison 
into  them. 

course  arranged  beforehand.  The  same  afternoon  he  was  taken  with 
four  other  victims  and  crtiiHotined.  His  last  words  are  said  to  have 
been     "  D<?pechez  vous  " — make  haste! 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  271 

The  insulting  murmurs  which  his  presence  excited,  forced 
him  to  retire  without  having  seen  any  of  the  royal  family. 
He  was  pursued  to  the  top  of  the  stairs;  and  as  he  was  going 
down,  some  spit  over  the  staircase  upon  him.  He  hastened 
out,  filled  with  rage  and  indignation,  and  convinced  that  the 
King  and  Queen  were  the  authors  of  these  outrages,  of  which 
they  were  not  only  ignorant,  but  extremely  concerned  when 
they  were  informed  of  them.  From  that  moment  the  Duke 
of  Orleans  conceived  implacable  hatred,  and  vowed  vengeance 
against  the  King  and  Queen.  He  kept  this  oath  but  too  well. 
I  happened  to  be  at  Court  that  day,  and  was  an  eye-witness  to 
the  scene  I  have  just  related. 

Upon  the  Count  d'Estaing's  appointment  to  the  rank  of 
Admiral,  he  wrote  me  a  letter  of  eight  pages,  expressed  in 
such  ambiguous  terms,  that  I  should  not  have  been  able  to  com- 
prehend it,  if  M.  de  Montmorin,  whom  he  solicited  to  recom- 
mend his  request  to  me,  had  not  explained  it  more  clearly. 
I  perceived  that  he  was  very  well  pleased  to  be  Admiral,  but 
that  he  objected  to  being  so  upon  the  same  footing  with 
others;  and  he  wished  that  a  new  place,  under  the  title  of 
Admiral  Extraordinary,  should  be  created  for  him;  assert- 
ing, that  something  of  the  same  kind  had  been  done  when 
he  obtained  the  rank  of  chief  of  a  squadron  (Commodore). 
He  desired  also  to  have  it  expressly  ascertained,  that  his  rank 
of  Admiral  was  not  to  be  an  obstruction  to  his  attaining  that 
of  Marshal  de  France.  I  answered  him,  that  the  Duke  of 
Orleans  being  as  yet  the  only  Admiral,  and  even  the  only 
officer  of  the  marine,  who  had  accepted  the  rank  with 
which  he  was  invested,  I  could  not  well  propose  to  the  As- 
sembly to  create  a  place  of  Admiral  Extraordinary,  until  all 
the  ordinary  Admirals  had  accepted  their  commissions.  This 
reason  did  not  satisfy  him.  He  had,  he  said,  very  good  friends 
in  the  Assembly,  and  particularly  in  the  Committee  of  Ma- 


272  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

line,  and  he  was  certain,  that  if  I  would  lay  his  request  be- 
fore them,  it  would  be  granted.  I  advised  him  to  draw  it  up 
in  the  form  of  a  memorial.  I  consented  even  to  receive 
it,  and  to  send  it  to  the  Assembly,  but  without  adding  any 
observation  of  my  own.  I  was  informed,  a  few  days  after, 
that  the  principal  person  on  whose  influence  he  relied,  in  the 
Committee  of  Marine,  was  precisely  that  Eouyer,^  who  was 
the  most  violent  of  all  my  antagonists,  and,  fortunately  for 
me,  the  most  foolish.  The  Count  dEstaing  went  almost  every 
day  to  the  house  of  this  man,  sometimes  waiting  two  whole 
hours  in  his  antechamber;  and  he  never  addressed  him  by  any 
other  name  than  "  my  dear  captain,"  either  when  he  spoke  or 
wrote  to  him,  although  he  never  had  served  in  that  rank. 
This  he  probably  did  with  the  view  of  appearing  to  favour 
Eouyer's  pretensions  to  the  cross  of  St.  Louis. 

Eouyer  took  care  to  make  himself  named,  by  the  marine 
committee,  "  Reporter  of  M.  d'Estaing's  demand,"  and  pro- 
nounced a  very  emphatic  discourse  in  his  favour,  on  the  6th 
of  March  1793,  to  the  Assembly;  in  consequence  of  which  it 
was  decreed  that  M.  dEstaing  might  act  as  Admiral,  without 
preventing  him  from  obtaining  his  rank  in  the  army,  but  on 
condition  that  he  should  receive  only  the  emoluments  of  the 
situation  which  he  actually  did  occupy. 

s  Jean  Pascal  Eouyer,  Deputy  for  the  Department  of  the  Herault 
in  the  Legislative  Assembly,  the  Convention  and  the  Corps  Legislatif, 
was  a  member  of  the  Girondist  party.  He  voted  for  the  death  of 
the  King,  was  included  in  the  proscriptions  of  the  31st  May  1793, 
and  was  placed  "  Hors  la  Loi  "  on  the  3d  October  of  the  same  year. 
On  December  9th  1794  the  seventy-three  Girondists  who  had  sur- 
vived the  Terror,  were  recalled  to  the  Convention.  Rouyer,  who 
was  one  of  these  survivors,  had  the  satisfaction  of  proposing  the 
Decree  of  Accusation  against  the  three  ex-Members  of  the  Committee 
of  Public  Safety,  Collot  d'Herbois,  Billaud  Varennes  and  Barere.  In 
the  Corps  legislatif  his  name  appears  only  as  a  somewhat  obscure 
member  of  the  Right. 

It  disappears  altogether  after  April  1797,  though  he  lived  for  many 
years  and  died  at  Brussels  on  the  20th  October  1819. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  273 

I  was  informed  of  these  circumstances  by  his  clerk,  who  told 
me,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  man's  ambition  was  no  longer 
limited  to  the  cross  of  St.  Louis,  but  that  he  now  aspired  to 
the  rank  of  first  Minister,  and  intended  to  make  the  proposal 
to  the  King  by  a  letter,  which  he  was  to  deliver  himself,  ac- 
companied by  two  chevaliers  of  St.  Louis;  and  that  he  had 
been  tormenting  this  same  clerk,  for  a  week  past,  to  com- 
pose a  letter  for  him;  and  still  insisted  on  it,  in  spite  of  the 
man's  expostulation  against  such  a  design. 

I  was,  on  the  contrary,  of  opinion,  that  it  would  be  very 
advantageous  to  the  King  to  be  in  possession  of  the  means  of 
exposing  a  knave  of  this  kind;  therefore  I  advised  the  clerk 
not  to  defer  writing  the  letter  any  longer,  and  to  make  it  ex- 
travagant and  ridiculous,  but  at  the  same  time  in  such  a 
style  as  would  impose  upon  Eouyer,  and  prevent  him  from 
seeing  the  end  intended.  Nothing  was  easier.  The  clerk 
afterwards  showed  me  a  rough  sketch  of  the  letter,  with  which 
I  was,  upon  the  whole,  very  well  pleased.  The  few  alterations 
I  suggested  were  soon  made,  and  I  demanded,  as  a  proof  of 
zeal,  which  might  be  useful  to  the  clerk,  that  he  would  give 
me  a  copy  of  the  letter,  as  soon  as  Eouyer  had  determined  to 
write  it.  The  clerk  brought  me  the  copy  next  day,  telling  me, 
at  the  same  time,  that  Eouyer  was  so  enchanted  with  the  let- 
ter, that  he  already  fancied  himself  first  Minister;  and  that 
he  was  now  in  search  of  two  chevaliers  of  St.  Louis  to  ac- 
company him,  when  he  went  to  present  the  letter  to  the  King, 
"  and  to  warrant,  by  their  presence,  that  he  was  capable  of 
performing  all  that  he  had  promised  to  his  Majesty/'  This 
sentence,  which  was  at  the  end  of  the  original  letter,  was 
not  inserted  in  that  which  was  delivered  to  the  King  on  the 
17th  of  March  1792,  and  afterwards  found  in  the  iron  cabi- 
net, because  Eouyer  was  forced  to  suppress  it,  after  having 
Vol.  T— 18 


274  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

sought  in  vain,  for  the  space  of  two  months,  for  two  chevaliers 
of  St.  Louis  to  accompany  him. 

Before  the  King  received  the  letter  sent  by  Bouyer,  there- 
fore, he  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  contents,  by  means 
of  the  copy  that  I  had  shown  him,  which  had  amused  him 
very  much. 

This  performance  is  so  very  curious,  that  I  cannot  avoid 
inserting  it.  Here  it  is,  exactly  as  it  was  printed  in  the 
King's  process,  in  the  third  collection,  page  104: 

Letter  from  Rouyer  to  the  King. 
"Sire, 

"  A  citizen,  invested  by  the  people  with  the  painful  and 
glorious  power  of  giving  them  laws,  and  of  watching  over 
their  happiness,  requests  3'our  attention  upon  the  present 
state  of  the  Kingdom,  and  desires  to  propose  to  you  the  means 
of  insuring  its  glory  and  felicity.  Deeply  impressed  with  the 
evils  which  rend  my  country,  I  ought  also  to  count  up  its 
innumerable  resources.  I  have  probed  its  wounds,  and  cal- 
culated its  force.  I  have  compared  all,  examined  all,  and 
foreseen  all.  I  can  now  announce  to  your  Majesty,  that  upon 
you  alone  depends  the  execution  of  the  laws,  and  consequently 
the  security  of  the  Empire.  You  can,  in  a  word,  heal  its 
wounds,  dissipate  its  alarms,  and  annihilate  its  perils:  you 
can  restore  to  Erance  that  peace  which  has  fled,  and  that 
dignity  which  ought  to  belong  to  her.  You  can  restore  to 
the  Throne  that  national  love  which  is  its  only  security,  and 
that  lustre  which  is  its  due. 

"  Sire,  in  order  to  execute  this  noble  design,  I  only  require 
the  direction  of  the  means  which  the  law  entrusts  to  you,  and 
to  be  empowered  to  employ  the  force  which  the  Constitution 
has  placed  in  your  hands;  and  T  offer  my  head  in  pledge  of 
the  sincerity  of  my  promises,  the  wisdom  of  my  plans,  and 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  275 

the  certainty  of  success.  Do  not  imagine,  Sire,  that  zeal 
for  public  good  has  disturbed  my  imagination,  or  that  the 
illusions  of  self-love  make  me  overrate  my  own  powers:  I 
am  sure  of  performing  successfully  what  I  undertake  boldly. 
Permit  me  to  enjoy  the  consoling  hope  of  restoring  your  hap- 
piness (for  yours  depends  upon  that  of  the  State).  I  know 
that  numerous  obstacles  oppose  the  exertion  of  public  power, 
and  combat,  without  ceasing,  the  benefits  of  the  law.  I  see 
everywhere  sedition  in  action,  and  authority  hiding  its  head: 
anarchy  elevating  itself,  and  a  government  which  dares  not 
suppress  it.  Your  Ministers,  Sire,  present  this  fatal  pic- 
ture too  often  to  your  view:  they  tell  you  of  the  troubles, 
without  explaining  the  causes  of  them;  and  if  they  ever  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  terminating  them,  they  have  always  been 
deterred  by  weak  obstacles  or  exaggerated  dangers.  But  I 
know  these  dangers,  and  I  set  them  at  defiance.  Weakness 
can  only  calculate  them,  but  genius  overcomes  them;  leaving 
it  to  history  to  describe  the  dangers  after  they  are  anni- 
hilated. 

"  This,  Sire,  is  the  glorious  labour  to  which  I  invite  you, 
offering  you,  at  the  same  time,  the  tribute  of  my  courage,  of 
my  moral  and  physical  powers,  and  of  my  profound  respect. 
Receive  the  homage  of  a  citizen,  who  perhaps  may  have  been 
falsely  represented  to  you  as  a  man  of  an  ardent  chai-acter,  an 
enemy  to  order  and  royalty,  but  whose  actions  shall  every- 
where proclaim,  that  nature  and  honour  have  engi^aven  on  his 
soul  the  love  of  his  Country  and  of  his  King. 

"  Sire,  I  still  repeat  to  your  Majesty,  that  I  engage  to  re- 
establish, in  two  months,  the  royal  authority,  peace  within 
the  Kingdom,  consideration  without,  and  public  felicity,  if 
you  condescend  to  adopt  the  counsel  which  my  zeal  shall  dic- 
tate to  you.  I  desire  not  pomp,  nor  honours,  nor  any  reward 
but  the  glory  of  saving  my  country.     You  can  greatly  con- 


276  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

tribute  to  it;  and  I  would  willingly  think  that  you  only  re- 
quire to  be  informed  of  the  means.  I  shall  discover  them 
to  your  Majesty:  I  shall  reveal  what  your  Ministers  con- 
ceal from  you,  or  inform  you  of  what  they  were  ignorant. 
You  yourself  shall  behold  the  state  of  your  empire;  you 
shall  appreciate  the  men  whom  the  law  permits  you  to  com- 
mand; you  shall  hear  those  whom  the  people  distinguish  by 
their  confidence;  and  if  you  observe  the  conduct  which  I  shall 
point  out,  you  will  find  the  suspicions  and  alarms,  which  have 
been  sowed  around  you,  dissipated  by  the  love  and  respect  of 
all  Frenchmen.  You  will  find  the  power  which  the  Constitu- 
tion gives  you  increased  by  opinion,  supported  by  esteem, 
firmly  established  by  the  confidence  of  all  the  citizens ;  and  the 
Queen,  partaking  with  your  Majesty  in  the  fruits  of  general 
happiness,  will  then  feel,  that  the  only  pure  felicity  is  that 
which  arises  from  l)enevolence  and  virtue.  But  this  plan 
cannot  be  executed,  unless  your  Majesty  is  animated  with 
the  sincere  desire  of  preserving  together,  in  all  its  parts,  the 
Constitution  of  the  State.  And  if,  in  spite  of  the  outcry  of 
fanatical  priests,  the  threats  of  emigrants,  and  the  conduct 
of  foreign  princes,  you  are  not  absolutely  convinced  of  the 
necessity  of  braving  this  insignificant  league  which  is  forming 
against  us,  I  shall  be  much  surprised;  because,  for  my  own 
part.  Sire,  I  am  so  well  convinced  of  our  own  force  and  re- 
sources, that  when  I  cast  my  eyes  upon  the  enemies  that 
menace  us,  they  excite  no  other  sentiment  than  that  of  pity. 

"  Eaised  to  the  elevation  of  liberty  and  equality,  those 
colossal  divinities  who  trample  under  foot  all  intrigues  and 
all  passions,  I  extend  my  view  over  the  Courts  of  Europe, 
and  I  am  certain  of  having  it  in  my  power  to  force  them  to 
a  peace. 

"  Yes,  Sire,  you  may  avoid  a  foreign  war,  or  at  least  re- 
store  internal   peace,  by  the  success  of  our   arms:   you   may 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  277 

render  your  authority  more  revered,  more  august,  more  exten- 
sive: you  may  become  the  tutelary  god  of  the  French  nation. 
Through  you,  religion  will  triumph  over  the  indecent  dis- 
sensions which  exist  between  the  refractory  and  the  constitu- 
tional priests:  through  you,  reason  and  justice  shall  at  last 
penetrate  the  souls  of  aristocrats,  and  you  will  bring  them 
back  to  the  bosom  of  their  country,  disarmed  by  remorse.  I 
shall  silently  enjoy  the  fruits  of  my  advice,  and  of  your 
strength  of  mind.  Happy  in  the  general  happiness,  I  shall 
direct  the  public  gratitude  to  you  alone,  and  my  heart  shall 
be  satisfied.  The  ambitious,  who  wish  to  elevate  the  edifice 
of  their  own  fortune  upon  the  wreck  of  Monarchy;  the  hot- 
headed and  extravagant,  who  imagine  that  liberty  can  only 
be  established  upon  broken  sceptres;  all  parties,  all  cabals 
shall  bend  before  the  Throne  raised  upon  the  basis  of  the 
Constitution.  Popular  Assemblies,  whose  rise  you  were  made 
to  fear  without  foundation,  shall  then  meet  only  to  offer  you 
their  thanks  and  praise. 

"  This,  Sire,  is  a  faithful  representation  of  the  change 
which  you  have  it  in  your  power  to  operate,  by  the  means 
which  I  have  unfolded.  Distrust  ought  not  to  find  a  place 
in  your  heart,  and  make  you  reject  a  faithful  subject.  Were 
I  in  the  same  perplexing  circumstances  on  the  Throne,  where 
birth  and  the  law  has  placed  you,  and  if  the  same  support 
were  ofl'ered  me,  no  inward  prejudice,  nor  malicious  sugges- 
tion from  without,  no  consideration  whatever,  should  influ- 
ence me  to  reject  it. 

"  I  attend  your  Majesty's  decision  with  respectful  confi- 
dence. My  conduct  and  my  letter  demand  an  examination. 
Let  it  be  as  severe  as  reason,  and  as  impartial  as  justice. 
But  if  it  does  not  procure  an  answer,  as  I  tliink  that  the 
fate  of  the  State  depends  upon  it,  permit  me  to  summon,  in 
this  extraordinary  cause,   those  whose  dearest  interest  it   in- 


278  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

eludes,  and  submit  my  letter  to  the  judgment  of  the  French 
Xation. 

(Signed)  Kouyee,  Citoyen." 

Paris,  March  17,  1792. 

A  spirit  of  insubordination  and  revolt  had  manifested  itself 
in  all  the  principal  seaports,  and  on  board  many  vessels  of 
war,  ever  since  the  year  1789.  Many  oflBcers  had  suffered  out- 
rage and  personal  insult  from  the  sailors;  so  that  the  naval 
commanders  in  general  were  disgusted  with  the  service;  and 
I  really  imagined,  that  the  Duke  of  Orleans  and  the  Count 
dEstaing  would  have  been  the  only  officers  of  high  rank 
willing  to  serve,  while  the  Xavy  was  subjected  to  the  new 
regulations.  I  was  therefore  greatly  surprised  when  I  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  M.  de  Peynier,*  an  officer  of  merit,  who 
had  formerly  been  cJief  descadre,  informing  me  that  he  ac- 
cepted, with  all  possible  gratitude,  the  new  rank  to  which  the 
King  had  promoted  him.  Some  of  this  gentleman's  friends, 
however,  were  persuaded  that  his  acceptation  of  employment 
in  the  present  circumstances  was  entirely  owing  to  his  hav- 
ing lived,  for  a  long  time,  at  a  remote  castle  which  belonged 
to  him  in  the  mountains  of  Bigorre,  and  to  his  being  quite 
ignorant  of  the  present  state  of  the  Navy.  They  wished,  there- 
fore, that  I  should  keep  his  acceptance  secret,  until  that  was 
laid  open  to  him.  But  as  at  this  time  I  was  accused  of  re- 
tarding the  nomination  to  employments  in  my  department,  on 
purpose  to  spread  the  opinion  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
fit  out  a  fleet,  or  maintain  a  navy,  according  to  the  present 
establishment,  I  did  not  choose  to  let  this  opportunity  slip 

4  The  Count  de  Peynier,  a  Rear  Admiral  in  the  French  Navy,  held 
the  post  of  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Hayti  for  some  years.  He  re- 
turned to  France  in  1791. 

As  here  related,  he  was  offered  the  Coramand  of  the  Post  of  Brest, 
which  he  ultimately  refused.     He  died  in  retirement  in  1795. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  279 

of  proving  the  falsehood  of  such  an  opinion;  for  which  rea- 
son I  informed  the  Council,  that  very  day,  of  the  letter 
I  had  received  from  M.  de  Peynier;  and  after  having  men- 
tioned him  to  the  King  with  the  praise  he  merited,  I  pro- 
posed that  he  should  be  promoted  to  the  immediate  command 
at  Brest,  instead  of  M.  de  la  Grandiere,  who  had  refused  it. 
This  proposal  was  approved  of  by  the  whole  Council,  but  had 
no  other  effect  than  to  justify  me,  in  the  eyes  of  the  public, 
from  the  calumny  above  mentioned;  for  M.  de  Peynier  hav- 
ing, no  doubt,  been  informed  of  the  actual  state  of  the  Navy, 
in  the  interval  between  his  writing  to  me  and  receiving  the 
letter  from  the  King,  not  only  refused  the  command  at  Brest, 
but  also  retracted  his  acceptation  of  the  place  appointed  for 
him  in  the  late  promotion. 

In  other  circumstances,  this  conduct  of  M.  de  Peynier  would 
have  been  very  censurable:  but  how  can  we  blame  officers, 
who  have  often  shown  their  courage  and  zeal  for  the  service 
of  their  King  and  country,  for  refusing  to  expose  themselves 
uselessly  to  the  danger  of  being  insulted,  and  even  assassi- 
nated, by  those  very  sailors,  whose  duty  it  was  to  respect  and 
obey  them?  Convinced  as  I  was,  and  am  still,  that  the  chief 
force  of  the  French  Navy  consists  in  the  talents  of  the  offi- 
cers, I  thought  it  my  duty  to  pay  all  possible  attention  to 
their  personal  safety;  and  being  likewise  persuaded  that  many 
of  the  officers  would  have  given  in  their  resignation,  if  their 
attendance  had  been  rigorously  insisted  on,  at  a  time  when 
there  was  not  an  absolute  necessity  for  it,  and  when  the  sail- 
ors were  in  a  state  of  mutiny,  I  wished  to  use  every  means 
to  quiet  the  minds  of  the  latter  in  the  first  place.  I  am  still 
])orsuadcd  that,  so  far  from  being  contrary  to  the  oath  I  had 
sworn  to  be  faithful  to  the  Constitution,  this  conduct  was  the 
only  one  I  could  adopt,  conformable  to  the  interests  of  the 
State,  and,  of  course,  to  true  patriotism. 


PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Motives  of  the  resolution  which  I  took  of  writing  down  the  speeches 
I  pronounced  in  the  Assembly. —  A  speech  which  I  pronounced 
upon  the  state  of  the  colony  of  St.  Domingo. —  Effect  which  it 
produced. 

The  incorrect  manner  in  which  a  sentence,  which  I  had 
pronounced  at  the  famous  sitting  of  the  10th  of  November, 
had  been  reported,  and  the  denunciation  to  which  I  had  been 
exposed,  by  publishing  an  explanation  of  that  mistake,  made 
me  resolve  to  put  into  writing  every  speech  that  I  should 
afterwards  make  in  the  Assembly,  and  to  read  it  there  from 
the  manuscript.  By  adhering  strictly  to  this  resolution,  I 
have  suffered  less  than  otherwise  I  might,  from  the  extreme 
malevolence  which  prevailed  against  me.  It  happened  to  me, 
one  day,  that  I  went  to  the  Assembly  with  a  speech  which 
had  employed  me  part  of  the  night,  and  which  I  had  but 
just  finished;  so  that  I  had  not  time  to  write  it  out  fair,  and 
read  it  from  the  first  sketch.  It  related  to  the  disasters  of 
St.  Domingo.  "When  I  pronounced  it,  the  Assembly  decreed 
its  being  printed,  and  ordered  me  to  leave  it.  I  answered, 
that  I  could  not,  because  it  was  only  a  first  sketch,  and  so 
blotted,  that  nobody  except  myself  could  make  it  out;  but 
that  I  would  send  a  copy  next  day  to  the  Committee.  One 
of  the  secretaries  observed,  that  a  copy  might  be  made  out 
directly  by  a  clerk,  and  that  it  might  be  next  day  returned  to 
me.  I  persisted  in  my  refusal,  in  spite  of  the  murmurs  of 
the  Assembly;  giving,  as  an  additional  reason,  that  the  King 
had  not  yet  seen  this  discourse,  and  that  it  was  my  duty  to 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  281 

show  it  to  him  as  soon  as  possible :  but  that  if  they  feared  my 
making  any  alterations,  they  might  mark  the  erasures  and 
references.  After  having  said  this,  and  shown  my  blotted 
minutes  to  the  secretary,  who  had  come  from  his  place  to 
take  them  from  me,  I  put  it  into  my  pocket  very  deliberately, 
and  then  rose  up  to  withdraw.  A  general  murmur  and  noise 
immediately  took  place  in  the  Assembly. 

"  The  Minister  does  not  leave  his  speech,"  cried  one. 

"  He  has  put  it  in  his  pocket,"  said  another. 

"  He  is  carrying  it  away,"  exclaimed  a  third. 

"  Yes,  unquestionably,  I  am  carrying  it  away,"  said  I,  with 
firmness,  turning  to  those  who  were  exclaiming,  "  but  it  is 
with  no  design  to  suppress  it." 

The  cry  ceased,  and  I  went  out. 

This  speech  is  connected  with  events  of  too  important  a 
nature  to  be  omitted;  I  have  therefore  thought  it  absolutely 
necessary  to  insert  it  at  large,  as  follows: 

"  Gentlemen,  I  formerly  gave  you  an  account  of  the 
measures  taken  by  his  Majesty  for  sending  succours  to  the  in- 
habitants of  St.  Domingo,  as  soon  as  their  calamities  and  dan- 
gers were  known :  these  succours,  insufficient  of  themselves, 
depended  for  success  upon  their  celerity  only,  and  upon  their 
being  followed  with  far  more  important  aids.  But  before  this 
could  be  determined  upon  it  was  necessary  to  know  exactly  the 
true  causes  of  the  disturbances  which  had  brought  about  this 
great  catastrophe.  I  have  neglected  nothing  to  discover  them, 
because  this  discovery  can  alone  direct  the  measures  calcu- 
lated to  prevent  their  recurrence.  Some  accuse  the  proprietors 
of  intending  to  betray  the  island  to  the  English ;  '  and,'  they 
add,  '  that  since  the  feudal  system  is  abolished  in  France,  the 
planters  justly  tremble  for  the  destruction  of  the  more  bar- 
barous tyranny  which  exists  in  the  colonies :  they  foresee  that 
the  classic  land  of  liberty  and  equality  will  countenance  slav- 


282  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

ery  nowhere;  therefore  they  wish  to  break  asunder  all  ties 
with  it.'  They  quote  in  support  of  this,  the  inconsiderate 
steps  of  some  individuals,  and  some  speeches  made  in  mo- 
ments of  anger,  by  men,  whose  passions  being  ardent  from 
living  under  a  burning  sun,  are  the  more  easily  exasperated 
by  the  slightest  contradiction,  to  which  they  have  been  en- 
tirely unaccustomed. 

"  Others,  on  the  contrary,  imagine  that  the  causes  of  the 
evils  are  incendiary  publications,  which  are  dispersed  through- 
out the  colonies  with  the  design  of  exciting  the  negroes  to 
revolt,  and  the  correspondences  which  have  for  a  long  time 
been  kept  up  between  the  mulattoes  and  a  society  of  pretended 
philanthropists,  whose  system,  they  assert,  is  destructive  of  all 
colonial  property.  It  may,  indeed,  be  easily  conceived,  that 
ever  since  the  first  establishment  of  our  colonies  in  the  West 
Indies,  a  people  of  a  humane  and  liberal  way  of  thinking,  and 
who  always  deserved  to  be  free,  have  regretted  that  the  ad- 
vantages resulting  from  those  establishments  depended  on 
the  slavery  of  a  large  portion  of  their  fellow-creatures.  This 
feeling  of  a  generous  nation,  which  does  them  the  more  hon- 
our, that  it  springs  spontaneously  in  their  breast  without  re- 
flection, and  which  is  even  estimable  when  it  exceeds  the 
bounds  of  prudence,  must  influence  all  Frenchmen;  and  a 
milder  and  more  humane  treatment  of  the  negroes  has  been 
the  consequence. 

"  The  result  of  a  sentiment  so  natural  and  wise  stopped 
here:  but  the  spirit  of  philosophy,  which  in  France  was  more 
ambitious,  determined  to  extend  its  conquests.  It  maintained, 
with  all  its  powers  of  reasoning,  the  theory  of  a  sentiment 
which  it  was  perhaps  enough  to  have  felt.  According  to  this 
system,  the  colonies,  these  possessions,  for  which  principles 
were  disregarded,  and  humanity  shed  tears,  wore  not  acquisi- 
tions so  important  as  avarice  believed,  but,  on  tlie  contrary, 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  283 

were  ruinous  to  the  State  which  had  the  misfortune  to  pos- 
sess them.  It  was  thought  possible  to  replace  them  by  pos- 
sessions nearer  at  hand,  in  a  climate  of  the  same  temperature, 
such  as  Africa  or  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  day 
must  come,  when  it  will  be  necessary  to  abandon  these  distant 
colonies,  inhabited  by  planters,  whose  ingratitude  and  infi- 
delity are  already  apparent.  These  united  considerations 
made  a  voluntary  abandoning  of  these  islands  seem  only  an 
anticipation  of  an  event  which  is  inevitable. 

"  Our  wiser  neighbours  made  similar  calculations  relative 
to  their  colonies  in  North  America,  and  demonstrated,  by  the 
sums  expended  in  maintaining  them,  that  they  were  burden- 
some :  but  these  wise  reflections  only  •  occurred  after  their 
colonies  were  lost.  Besides,  the  colonies  in  question  were  con- 
tinental, and  had  no  resemblance,  except  in  their  name,  to  the 
colonies  of  the  American  Archipelago.  This  difference  did 
not  strike  every  mind;  and  when  the  interests  of  commerce 
appeared  to  favour  the  interests  of  humanity,  the  number  of 
philanthropists  was  augmented  by  the  addition  of  many,  whose 
sensibility  could  only  be  excited  by  motives  very  different 
from  those  of  philanthropy. 

"  The  proprietors  of  West  India  estates  assert,  that  the 
sanguinary  scenes,  of  which  they  are  the  victims,  originate  in 
the  errors  and  sophistry  of  the  pretended  philanthropists. 
'  Follow,'  say  they,  '  with  attention  the  effects  of  the  zeal  which 
first  proposed  the  total  abolition  of  slavery,  and  the  complete 
freedom  of  the  negroes,  and  afterwards,  under  the  pretence 
of  moderation,  but  in  fact  to  hasten  their  schemes,  only  in- 
sisted upon  the  suppression  of  the  slave  trade;  and  lastly,  by 
a  more  artful  and  skilful  manoeuvre,  appeared  to  have  con- 
fined the  plan  to  changing  the  fate  of  the  niulattoes,  in  order 
to  ruin  us  with  more  certainty.  Is  it  possible  to  conceive  that 
a  system,  founded  upon  humanity,  could  produce  such  cruel 


284  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

effects?  Does  not  the  history  of  these  countries  furnish  us 
with  an  anecdote,  which,  by  analogy  and  by  comparison,  would 
honour  the  most  delicate  philanthropists?  Was  it  not  owing 
to  the  humane  and  pious  Las  Casas,  that  America  was  filled 
with  negroes  ?  Was  it  not  this  virtuous  Spaniard,  who,  melted 
by  the  misery  which  his  countrymen  heaped  upon  the  na- 
tives, in  compelling  them  to  hard  labour,  flew  to  Africa  to  seek 
men  who,  already  devoted  to  slavery,  might  perform  the  tasks 
without  any  aggravation  of  their  misery,  and  with  only  a 
change  of  their  masters;  and  in  a  climate  similar  to  their 
own,  might  replace  the  feeble  Indians,  who,  unfit  for  fatigue, 
sank  under  their  labour  and  their  chains?  Although  this 
pious  missionary  repented  of  the  means  which  his  mistaken 
humanity  suggested,  it  nevertheless  is  true,  that  in  order  to 
save  a  few  Caribs  who  survived  so  much  wretchedness,  he  de- 
voted millions  of  individuals  to  slavery,  by  the  avarice  which 
the  immense  market  for  slaves  excited  in  Africa.  Let  us 
suppose  that  the  modern  philanthropists  are  actuated  by  as 
pure  motives,  yet  it  would  be  no  less  true,  that  by  attempting 
to  abolish  the  slavery  of  the  blacks,  they  would  reduce  to  mis- 
ery and  despair  five  or  six  millions  of  whites,  who  are  their 
fellow-citizens,  their  friends,  and  their  brothers,  and  would 
overthrow  one  of  the  strongest  pillars  of  the  power  of  the 
nation.  It  would  be  no  less  true,  that  they  would  not  even 
effect  the  happiness  of  those  whom  they  wish  to  serve;  for, 
in  order  to  accomplish  this,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  the 
concurrence  of  all  those  States  who  possess  colonies ;  and 
that  the  abolition  of  slavery  should  be  the  simultaneous  de- 
cree of  all  the  powers  who  are  interested:  and  without  this 
universal  agreement,  both  in  will  and  deed,  which  is  supposed 
so  easy  to  obtain,  the  colonies  would  gain  nothing  but  the 
choice  of  a  protector,  and  the  slaves  the  change  of  a  master. 
The  slaves  may  again  succeed,  as  has  been  the  case  already 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  285 

in  many  places,  in  murdering  us,  our  families,  and  all  whom 
they  consider  as  their  masters,  but  the  effect  will  be  merely 
to  procure  them  new  masters,  much  more  cruel  than  us;  for 
in  this  vessel,  in  this  kind  of  immense  galley,  which  fate  has 
placed  in  the  Atlantic  ocean,  and  to  the  benches  of  which  mis- 
taken philanthropy  leads  the  Africans,  chaining  them  to  the 
oars,  the  most  successful  insurrections  of  the  crew  would  only 
tend  to  embitter  their  lot.' 

"  Such,  gentlemen,  are  the  attacks  and  defences  which  are 
employed  by  the  planters  and  their  antagonists.  It  is  with 
a  view  to  procure  light  to  myself  as  a  Minister  that  I  have 
examined  what  the  real  causes  were  which  excited  the  com- 
motions of  St.  Domingo,  in  order  to  employ  the  most  ef- 
fectual means  of  quieting  them,  and  preventing  their  return. 

"  With  regard  to  the  accusations  against  the  proprietors, 
of  intending  to  give  tliemselves  up  to  the  English  or  to  the 
Americans,  I  know  nothing,  and  I  have  seen  nothing  to  make 
me  suspect  so  criminal  a  design.  Besides,  how  was  this  to 
be  effected?  By  exciting  the  negroes  to  insurrection,  by  im- 
pelling them  to  ravage  the  whole  country?  In  offering  them- 
selves to  a  new  sovereign,  why  would  they  choose  to  present 
only  a  heap  of  ashes  and  ruins?  With  regard  to  the  project 
of  their  claiming  independence,  there  is  no  fact  to  prove  that 
they  had  so  extravagant  a  project.  Their  situation,  their 
weakness,  and  their  very  nature  announce,  that  to  them  de- 
pendence is  a  duty,  and  absolutely  necessary.  They  have 
even  been  accused  of  intending  to  bring  about  a  counter-revo- 
lution. Surely  those  who  cannot  credit  the  possibility  of  ef- 
fecting a  counter-revolution  in  France,  must  consider  the 
attempting  it,  at  the  distance  of  1,800  leagues  from  the 
mother  country,  as  decidedly  impossible.  It  would  excite 
ridicule,  if  the  spectacle  of  so  much  misery  could  permit  tiie 
mind  to  receive  any  other  impression  but  that  of  grief. 


286  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

"With  regard  to  tlie  accusation  pointed  against  the  par- 
tisans of  the  freedom  of  the  negroes,  I  cannot  dissemble 
that  I  have  discovered  that  this  is  far  better  founded. 
But  whatever  is  the  cause  of  these  disasters,  by  what 
means  can  they  be  repaired,  and  how  can  their  return  be  pre- 
vented ? 

"What  is  most  useful  for  us  is  certainly  a  knowledge  of 
our  true  interests,  and  of  our  commercial  intercourse  with  the 
colonies,  since  ignorance  on  these  points  has  been  the  chief 
source  of  our  errors  and  our  calamities.  Our  sugar  colonies 
should  be  considered  as  so  many  manufactures,  established  at 
the  distance  of  eighteen  hundred  leagues  from  the  mother 
country,  and  the  mother  country  as  a  company  of  capitalists, 
who  have  defrayed  the  expenses  of  these  establishments  of 
agriculture  and  industry,  by  originally  founding,  by  main- 
taining, and  by  protecting  them.  Every  individual  in  the 
mother  country  is  a  party  in  this  important  speculation.  To 
share  its  benefits,  it  is  only  requisite  to  be  born  in  France. 
All  French  citizens,  yes,  I  say  all  of  them,  are  interested  in 
its  prosperity,  although  under  different  titles.  Some  as  cul- 
tivators or  proprietors  of  land.  This  class  labour  the  ground, 
partly  to  furnish  necessaries  for  these  distant  consumers,  and 
would  be  ruined  without  this  important  market  for  their 
crops.  Others,  as  being  skilled  in  some  ingenious  art,  which 
is  exercised  for  the  fabrication  of  goods  for  the  colonies, 
which,  without  them,  could  never  be  sold.  Others,  as  mer- 
chants, navigators,  and  coasting  traders,  &c.,  form  a  third 
class,  who  are  employed  in  transporting  the  goods  of  the  two 
first.  "WHiatever  situation  an  individual  in  this  company  oc- 
cupies, whatever  money  or  talent  he  brings  to  it,  from  the 
industrious  labourer  to  the  idle  capitalist,  from  the  ingenious 
manufacturer  to  the  crafty  jobber,  from  the  bold  speculator 
to  the  timid  annuitant,  all  are  interested  in  these  valuable  pes- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  287 

sessions;  even  the  calumniator  himself  spreads  his  libels  there 
with  profit. 

"  In  whatever  manner  these  colonies  are  governed  or  man- 
aged, they  preserve  always  their  original  character  of  an  un- 
dertaking founded  by  the  mother  country,  which  alone  is  to 
receive  the  benefits  or  suffer  the  losses.  Even  at  the  time 
when  Government,  unwisely,  if  you  please,  granted  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  exclusive  trade  of  these  colonies  to  certain  com- 
panies, it  only  yielded  to  particular  persons  the  rights  of  all; 
but  upon  conditions  which  ought  to  have  been  beneficial  to 
all.  It  was  a  mine  which  was  farmed  by  the  State,  instead  of 
being  wrought  by  it.  Perhaps,  by  this  plan,  the  profits  of  the 
great  company  were  diminished  in  favour  of  the  small  ones. 
I  only  mention  this,  to  show  that  even  in  these  monopolies 
the  whole  nation  was  interested  in  the  produce  of  the  colonies. 

"  The  expense  which  these  establishments  have  cost  is  cer- 
tainly great;  but  how  can  we  appreciate,  by  gold,  or  by  num- 
bers, the  advantages  which  Europeans  reap  from  their  colo- 
nies? Is  this  not  seen  in  the  evident  increase  of  population, 
the  only  certain  sign  of  public  prosperity;  a  sign  which  in- 
fallibly demonstrates,  at  once,  abundance  of  materials,  and 
necessity  for  more  hands?  (for  men  always  increase  where 
provisions  abound,  and  where  there  is  a  call  for  labour). 
Is  it  not  evident,  that  the  necessity  of  selling  the  produce  to 
the  mother  country,  and  purchasing  all  that  is  wanted  from 
it,  is  a  source  of  incalculable  wealth?  If  the  colonies  were 
considered  as  provinces  belonging  to  the  Empire,  or  as  allied 
States,  this  double  monopoly  must  appear  both  oppressive 
and  unjust,  as  the  commerce  would  be  the  most  disad- 
vantageous, and  the  exchange  the  most  unequal,  that  was 
ever  proposed  between  two  parts  of  the  same  empire,  or  be- 
tween two  different  empires.  In  fact,  the  colonies  are  com- 
pelled to  purchase  all  that  they  consume  from  us,  which  mo- 


288  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

nopoly  enal)les  us  to  sell  to  them  what  they  stand  in  need  of  at 
a  very  high  price;  and  as  they  are  likewise  compelled  to  sell 
to  us  alone  their  produce,  this  enables  us  to  procure,  at  a  very 
moderate  rate,  not  only  what  is  wanted  for  the  consumption 
of  five-and-twenty  millions  of  people,  but  likewise  an  immense 
overplus,  which  is  sold,  for  our  benefit,  to  those  nations  who 
have  no  colonies.  Can  all  these  advantages  be  calculated  by 
a  series  of  figures,  which,  only  expressing  quantities,  can  be 
applied  only  to  inanimate  objects,  which  are  susceptible  of 
addition  and  subtraction?  The  truths  discovered  by  this 
means  are  more  certain,  in  proportion  as  the  subject  is  inde- 
pendent of  others,  abstracted,  and  considered  only  with  rela- 
tion to  quantity.  But  when  numbers  are  applied,  to  calculate, 
with  exactness,  national  prosperity;  when  they  are  applied  to 
government,  and  to  whatever  unites  men  in  society;  they 
produce  the  most  absurd  conclusions.  This  explains  to  us,  be- 
sides, how  the  most  exact  sciences,  when  they  venture  out  of 
the  circle  of  subjects  to  which  they  are  applicable,  become,  in 
the  hands  of  the  ambitious,  the  most  treacherous  guides,  be- 
wildering instead  of  illuminating  the  mind. 

"  I  beg,  gentlemen,  that  you  will  refiect,  that  the  tendency 
of  these  errors  is  not  simply  to  retard  the  wheel  of  national 
fortune,  but  to  force  it  into  retrograde  movement.  Such 
would  be  the  natural  effect  of  condemning  to  inactivity  the 
millions  of  hands  which  are  now  employed  in  pushing  it  for- 
ward. How  calamitous  would  be  the  consequence  of  cutting, 
at  once,  so  many  of  the  cords  as  are  thus  stretched  in  draw- 
ing riches  to  the  nation. 

"  When  the  nature  of  the  colonies  is  properly  considered, 
the  necessity  becomes  apparent  of  establishing  there  a  differ- 
ent kind  of  government  from  that  which  is  adapted  either  to 
the  whole  of  France,  or  to  any  one  of  its  departments;  and 
this  example  ought  not  to  be  regarded  as  an  exception  from 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  289 

the  other.  You  see,  now,  what  degree  of  wisdom  was  dis- 
played by  the  Constituent  Assembly,  in  leaving  to  your  deci- 
sion the  admission  or  refusal  of  the  representatives  of  the 
colonies,  who  should  be  considered  as  the  representatives 
of  a  corporation  or  manufacture !  Everything  is  explained 
by  examining  them  in  this  light :  but  if  they  are  looked  upon 
only  as  one  of  the  ordinary  portions  of  the  Empire,  the  im- 
mense sums  which  are  gained  by  means  of  the  monopoly  must 
appear  unjust  and  burdensome.  The  right  of  exacting  this 
wealth  is  founded  upon  our  having  incurred  the  original  ex- 
pense, and  upon  the  interest  which  is  due  for  it.  Thus,  in 
spite  of  the  monopoly,  our  colonists  become  richer  in  pro- 
portion to  the  quantity  of  their  produce  sold  to  us;  and  thus 
the  gradual  augmentation  of  their  commerce  increasing  their 
need  of  our  goods,  their  prosperity,  and  that  of  their  mother 
country,  go  hand  in  hand. 

"  This  reciprocity  of  exchange  and  of  riches,  so  advan- 
tageous to  France,  makes  it  a  duty  incumbent  upon  us,  at  this 
moment,  to  repair  the  disaster  which  has  befallen  one  of  our 
richest  establishments.  The  total  loss  sustained  by  St.  Do- 
mingo is  estimated  at  the  sum  of  five  or  six  hundred  millions, 
the  produce  of  which  would  have  annually  loaded  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  ships  of  five  hundred  tons  each.  But  this 
wound,  however  deep,  will  be  healed  by  the  fecundity  of  the 
soil,  and  by  the  industrious  activity  of  the  inhabitants,  if 
proper  assistance  be  granted  them,  under  the  title  of  loans ; 
if  commerce,  enlightened  as  to  her  interests,  which  are  like- 
wise the  general  interests  of  the  State,  yields  to  the  pressure  of 
circumstances;  if  she  gives  time  to  her  ruined  creditors;  if 
she  wisely  suspends  lier  profits,  in  order  to  render  them  more 
certain  and  durable;  and  this  is  generously  engaged  to  be  done, 
in  the  numerous  addresses  which  the  merchants  have  pre- 
VoL.  1—19 


290  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

sented  to  the  King;  and  I  have  no  fear  in  pledging  myself 
for  the  exact  performance  of  this  engagement. 

"  The  assistance  best  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
colonies,  and  which  will  almost  speedily  relieve  their  wants,  is 
giving  up  to  them  all  that  is  owing  to  us  by  the  United  States 
of  America.  This  mode  of  relief  will  at  once  accommodate 
the  Americans  and  our  planters.  The  first  can,  upon  reason- 
able terms,  furnish  to  the  distressed  planters  those  things 
which  are  most  urgently  wanted,  such  as  wood,  provisions, 
draught  horses,  domestic  animals,  and  frames  of  houses,  which, 
fashioned  in  the  forests  of  North  America,  may  be  put  to- 
gether in  an  instant,  and  will  replace,  at  a  small  expense,  the 
stone  buildings  which  have  been  burnt  or  destroyed. 

"  To  what  more  useful  purpose  can  those  sums  be  destined, 
which  a  generous  nation  advanced  to  procure  the  independence 
of  its  allies,  and  which  it  feels  already  repaid  with  usury,  by 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  their  present  independence?  What 
sight  can  be  more  delightful  to  true  philosophy,  than  to  see 
the  first  wealth  acquired  by  liberty,  repairing  the  evils  occa- 
sioned by  licentiousness? 

"  It  is  of  great  moment,  and  his  Majesty  will  readily  con- 
sent, as  it  is  agreeable  to  the  Constitution,  that  it  should  be 
left  entirely  to  the  colony  to  regulate  the  distribution  and 
partition  of  this  grant  to  those  who  have  suffered  by  fire  and 
pillage ;  and  likewise  to  levy  a  suitable  contribution  upon  those 
whose  possessions  have  been  untouched. 

"  Measures  for  future  security  form  the  second  and  most 
important  class  of  succours. 

"  The  colonies,  these  sources  of  prosperity,  were  no  sooner 
known  to  Europe,  than  every  State  attempted  to  procure  for 
itself  their  exclusive  possession.  Every  fortification  placed 
there  was  planned  by  this  jealous  spirit:  they  were  formed 
on  the  coasts,  to  oppose  invasions  from  without.     Why  should 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  291 

they  fortify  the  interior  of  the  colony  against  enemies  whom 
they  never  expected?  But  melancholy  experience  convinces 
us  that  these  are  the  most  to  be  dreaded.  This  must  neces- 
sarily occasion  some  change  in  the  system  of  fortifications, 
which,  besides,  were  insufficient,  and  require  to  be  aided  by 
more  powerful  means.  These  fortifications,  ranged  from  dis- 
tance to  distance  along  the  coast,  terrifying  only  in  appear- 
ance, as  they  are  easily  avoided  by  the  enemy,  may  be  sup- 
ported by  a  number  of  small  redoubts,  placed  in  the  interior, 
to  prevent,  in  case  of  an  insurrection,  communication  by  the 
mountains.  These  posts,  without  being  dangerous  to  liberty, 
will  suppress  licentiousness. 

"  The  next  consideration  is,  the  establishment  of  colonial 
fusileers,  better  organized  than  the  old  militia  of  St.  Do- 
mingo, composed  entirely  of  proprietors;  the  whole  of  whom, 
according  to  the  example  of  the  national  guards,  should  be 
ready  to  march  at  the  first  signal,  and  a  part  only  should  per- 
form regular  active  service.  Secondly,  Police  laws  are  wanted 
to  be  executed  with  prudence  and  firmness,  comprehending 
men  of  all  classes  and  colours.  Thirdly,  a  complete  code  of 
laws,  to  excite  confidence  in  all  towards  the  colonial  pro- 
prietors, who  are  born  the  administrators  of  these  establish- 
ments; and  at  the  same  time  to  give  the  protection  which  is 
due  to  the  men  who  cultivate  the  ground ;  preserve  them  from 
being  treated  with  capricious,  excessive,  or  useless  rigour ; 
and  prevent  or  punish  insurrections,  as  well  as  those  abuses 
of  authority  which  occasion  them.  Fourthly,  new  regulations 
are  required  relative  to  the  slave  trade,  to  prevent  its  various 
abuses;  so  that  those  sorrowful  and  unhappy  victims  of  our 
political  interests  may  not  be  rendered  also  the  victims  of  the 
cruelty  of  individuals;  and  obliged  to  groan,  not  only  under 
those  evils  which  are  become  necessary  to  prevent  greater,  but 
likewise  under  the  cruelties  of  sordid  economy  or  avarice. 


292  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

"  Such  are  the  measures  which  the  King  charges  me  to  pro- 
pose to  you,  and  which  you,  with  wisdom,  will  deliberate  upon. 
Let  us  do  homage  to  true  philanthropy.  It  is  only  by  its 
abuses,  and  by  its  false  application,  that  the  fatal  effects,  of 
which  it  is  accused,  can  take  place.  It  was  owing  to  the 
moving  solicitations  and  perseverance  of  some  friends  of  hu- 
liiuijity  in  England  that  two  bills,  relative  to  the  slave  trade, 
were  carried  in  Parliament.  These  bills  ameliorate  the  fate 
of  the  negroes,  they  limit  the  number  which  each  slave  ship 
is  to  contain,  and  command  that  which  even  a  more  enlight- 
ened avarice  might  have  prompted.  A  people,  whose  natural 
sensibility  is  superior  to  such  laws,  will  undoubtedly  strive 
to  surpass  them,  by  instituting  milder  and  more  humane  ones. 
If,  in  addition  to  the  measures  I  have  proposed,  you  likewise 
send  a  body  of  troops  to  guard  the  different  fortified  posts, 
perhaps  you  will  find  it  useful  never  to  leave  the  same  corps 
longer  than  two  or  three  years,  on  account  of  the  climate, 
which  a  long  residence  renders  fatal,  and  whose  influence 
tends  to  relax  military  discipline.  Perhaps,  likewise,  the 
danger  of  sending  a  great  part  of  the  array  across  the  seas, 
every  three  years  in  succession,  will  induce  you  to  adopt  other 
measures  which  circumstances  may  suggest. 

"  With  regard  to  external  defences,  the  fortifications  which 
are  best  adapted  to  the  colonies  are  squadrons  of  ships  con- 
stantly stationed  there,  and  a  number  of  vessels  perpetually 
cruising.  These  are  the  citadels  which  ought  to  be  employed, 
and  they  will  have  the  good  effect  of  training  seamen  and 
officers  to  man  our  fleets,  and  to  make  the  national  flag  re- 
spected in  every  quarter  of  the  globe, 

"  If,  in  the  midst  of  such  important  interests,  I  am  per- 
mitted, gentlemen,  to  mention  my  own  zeal,  I  would  renew 
tlie  assurances  T  formerly  gave,  that  none  of  the  obstacles 
which  are  thrown  in  my  way  will  diminish   it.     The  busi- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  293 

ness  of  administration,  perhaps  the  most  important,  certainly 
the  most  complicated,  will  undoubtedly  fill  up  every  moment 
of  my  time.  Observe,  gentlemen,  that  my  office  participates 
in  the  business  of  all  the  other  branches  of  administration,  be- 
sides having  business  peculiarly  of  its  own.  It  comprehends 
men  of  all  nations,  of  all  colours,  and  with  every  kind  of 
prejudice;  military  men  of  all  descriptions;  it  requires  the 
greatest  responsibility;  exacts  upon  every  subject  the  most 
active  and  perpetual  vigilance.  Consider,  then,  if  it  be  possi- 
ble, that  the  man  who  is  occupied  with  so  immense  a  charge 
can  hope  to  execute  it,  if  he  be  diverted  from  such  important 
concerns  by  perpetual  accusations  of  so  contemptible  a  nature, 
as  to  bring  disgrace  upon  the  useful  measure  of  impeach- 
ment. 

"  But  do  not  imagine,  gentlemen,  that  I  mean,  by  this,  to 
turn  your  attention  from  that  particular  one  which  is  pointed 
at  me;  I  wish  only  to  warn  your  wisdom  against  those  gen- 
eral ones  directed  against  all  the  King's  Ministers,  and  which 
we  have  the  more  reason  to  expect,  because  our  determined 
exactitude  in  executing  new  laws,  and  in  reforming  abuses, 
will  excite  against  us  all  the  persons  who  lived  by  those 
abuses,  and  who  must  suffer  by  their  reform.  You  will  easily 
conceive  that  our  present  calumniators  would  become  our 
greatest  applauders,  if  less  occupied  with  public  than  with 
private  concerns,  we  were  capable  of  sacrificing  our  principles, 
and  did  not  esteem  the  approbation  of  our  own  consciences, 
and  the  good  of  the  country,  as  the  best  recompense  of  up- 
right Ministers." 

This  conclusion  being  more  adapted  to  the  capacity  of  the 
audience  in  the  galleries,  than  the  important  discussion  which 
was  the  subject  of  ray  discourse,  gained  me  great  applause. 
This  testimony  of  approbation  was  absolutely  necessary  for 
every  Minister,  while  he  spoke  to  the  Assembly,  not  only  to 


294  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

procure  him  attention,  but  likewise  to  prevent  him  from  be- 
ing hissed  and  insulted  when  he  went  out.  I  did  not, 
therefore,  think  it  beneath  me  to  take  every  method  of  in- 
suring this  sort  of  protection.  I  was  particularly  successful 
on  Thursday  the  19th  of  January,  when  I  went,  accom- 
panied by  all  the  Ministers,  to  refute  the  first  report  which 
the  Marine  Committee  made  against  me,  in  which  I  was  ac- 
cused of  an  intention  to  subvert  the  Constitution.  The  sen- 
tence which  I  pronounced  in  answer  to  this  accusation  was 
more  particularly  attended  to  than  the  other  parts  of  my 
speech,  and  was  generally  applauded  in  the  galleries. 

"  I  am  accused,"  said  I,  "  of  being  an  enemy  of  the  Consti- 
tution. I  openly  declare  that  my  firm  opinion  is,  that  the 
safety  of  France  depends  on  its  being  adhered  to.  And  I 
must  add,  that  it  is  not  those  who  express  the  greatest  en- 
thusiasm for  the  Constitution  who  observe  it  most  rigidly. 
It  is  only  by  our  actions  that  we  can  prove  our  fidelity ;  and  I 
defy  my  accusers  to  point  out  a  single  act  of  my  administra- 
tion which  is  not  conformable  to  this  Constitution." 

Such  was  really  my  opinion  at  that  period,  and  such  was 
the  constant  principle  of  my  conduct  during  my  Ministry. 
And  I  still  believe,  that  if  this  opinion  had  been  more  gen- 
eral, the  Revolution  would  have  had  no  other  consequences 
than  the  reformation  of  all  those  abuses  which  were  its  first 
object. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Singular  conversation  with  Linguet. —  His  proposal  of  sending  M. 
Duchilleau  to  St.  Domingo. —  Conditions  proposed  by  Madame 
Duchilleau. —  Linguet's  denunciation  against  me  in  the  Assem- 
bly.—  Sensibility  of  the  King. —  Proof  of  his  fidelity  to  the 
Constitution. —  M.  de  Gerville. —  Characteristic  traits  respecting 
the  King. 

The  applause  which  my  discourse  on  the  disasters  of  St. 
Domingo  obtained  in  the  Assembly  did  not  prevent  its  dis- 
pleasing the  partisans  of  the  liberty  of  the  blacks,  particularly 
Brissot  and  Condorcet,  whose  opinions,  without  naming  the 
men,  I  had  refuted  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  their  absurdity 
evident  to  the  majority  of  the  Assembly.  This  was  a  slight 
revenge  for  the  sarcasms  which  daily  appeared  against  me  in 
both  their  Journals:  but  I  irritated  my  accusers  still  more, 
by  the  observation  which  terminated  my  discourse,  which  was 
an  attack  so  direct,  as  to  fix  all  eyes  upon  them. 

The  day  after  I  had  pronounced  that  discourse,  which  had 
in  some  degree  re-established  my  credit,  a  person,  who  would 
not  tell  his  name,  demanded  a  short  audience  of  me,  "  to 
communicate  things  of  the  utmost  importance."  As  my  pres- 
ent situation  exacted  of  me  to  be  upon  my  guard  against  such 
visits,  I  did  not  choose  to  receive  him  in  my  closet,  and  I 
went  into  my  saloon,  that  I  might  be  nearer  the  antecham- 
ber where  my  domestics  were.  I  found  a  little  man,  ill 
dressed,  and  of  no  very  agreeable  countenance.  Advancing 
towards  him,  "  Is  it  you,  sir,"  said  I,  "  who  had  things  of  im- 
portance to  communicate  to  me  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  it  is  me." 

"  Well,  upon  what  subject  ?  "  said  I. 


296  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

"  To  render  you  the  greatest  possible  service,"  returned  he ; 
"  for  you  will  surely  consider  as  such  my  indicating  to  you 
the  only  means  of  re-establishing  good  order  and  peace  in  St. 
Domingo  ?  " 

"  Yes,  certainly,"  said  I. 

"  Well,  sir,  I  bring  you  these  means,"  returned  he. 

"  If  they  are  as  certain  as  you  say  — " 

"  //  they  are  as  certain ! "  continued  he.  "  Do  you  think 
that  if  they  were  not,  I  would  have  quitted  my  country  resi- 
dence to  come  and  lose  my  time  here,  in  conversation  with 
you,  and  make  you  lose  yours  also?  Yes,  sir,  the  means  I 
have  to  propose  are  certain,  and  very  certain.  I  do  not  pre- 
tend to  inform  you,  sir,"  continued  he,  "  that  it  is  to  the 
weakness  of  M.  Blanchelande  ^  that  all  the  evil  is  to  be  at- 
tributed. You  would  not,  perhaps,  acknowledge  this,  be- 
cause you  are  a  Minister,  consequently  may  think  yourself 
entitled  to  dissemble,  and  to  hold  a  language  contrary  to 
your  real  sentiments:  but  it  is  sufficient  for  me  that  I  know 
what  must  be  your  opinion  of  M.  Blanchelande.  I  am  con- 
vinced, that  if  you  could  at  this  moment  lay  your  hands  upon 
a  man  of  a  superior  character,"  added  he,  with  exultation, 
"  one  already  known  at  St.  Domingo,  for  his  energy,  his  firm- 
ness, and  his  justice,  generally  esteemed,  respected,  and  feared 
by  the  blacks,  the  whites,  and  men  of  all  colours,  capable  of 

1  P.  F.  Rouxel  de  Blanchelande,  a  Military  Officer,  was  Governor 
of  Hayti  in  1789.  In  the  extraordinary  triangular  duel  which  fol- 
lowed the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  between  the  white  planters 
(the  aristocracy  of  the  island)  the  mulattoes  and  free  men  of  colour, 
and  the  slaves,  Blanchelande  took  the  side  of  his  own  race.  On 
the  4th  April  1792  three  Commissioners,  the  principal  being  Sauth- 
onax,  were  sent  to  Hayti.  Their  first  act  was  to  arrest  Blanchelande 
and  send  him  to  France,  where  he  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of 
the  Revolutionary  Tribunal  and  guillotined  on  the  11th  April  1793. 
His  son  followed  him  to  the  scaffold  on  the  20th  July  1794. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  297 

overawing  by  his  presence  alone;  if  you  knew  of  such  a  man, 
I  repeat  it,  would  you  not  be  happy  to  be  enabled  to  send  him 
immediately  to  that  island?  Well,  sir,  it  is  this  very  man 
whom  I  come  to  offer  you.  I  do  not  mean  myself,  but  my 
second  self,  M.  Duchilleau,  my  intimate  friend.  He  is  at  this 
moment  about  a  hundred  leagues  from  Paris,  and  certainly 
has  no  idea  that  I  am  speaking  to  you  of  him.  I  have  not 
yet  written  to  him  upon  the  subject.  Your  discourse  in  the 
Assembly  yesterday  suggested  the  idea.  I  am  even  not  very 
certain  that  he  would  accept  the  situation,  unless  I  use  all  my 
influence  to  determine  him,  and  also  promise  to  accompany 
him." 

My  astonishment  prevented  my  interrupting  the  man's 
volubility.  At  last,  having  a  little  recovered  myself,  I  asked 
him,  "  Pray,  sir,  in  what  quality  do  you  propose  to  accom- 
pany M.  Duchilleau  ?     As  his  aid-de-camp  ?  " 

"  His  aid-de-camp !  "  replied  he.  "  You  may  see,  sir,  that 
I  am  neither  of  an  age,  nor  have  I  the  appearance,  surely,  of  an 
aid-de-camp.  Besides,  it  is  not  my  line.  But  here  is  the 
point:  Duchilleau,  who  is  perhaps  the  best  governor  for  the 
colonies  that  we  have  had  for  a  long  time,  perfectly  under- 
stands all  which  concerns  the  military  department:  but  he 
understands  nothing  of  the  civil  administration;  and  it  is 
that  which  I  shall  take  upon  myself." 

''  Very  well,"  said  I,  smiling ;  "  but  it  is  necessary  that  I 
should  know  your  name." 

"For  what  purpose?  Is  not  my  proposal  good  enough  for 
my  name  to  be  dispensed  with  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  say  the  contrary,"  resumed  I :  "  but  do  you 
think  I  can  propose  to  the  King  to  send  an  anonymous  person 
to  the  intendance  of  St.  Domingo  ?  " 

"  "Well,  sir,  my  name  is  Linguet."  ^ 

2  Simon    Nicolay   Henri    Linguet    was    an   advocate   and   author   of 


298  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

"  0,  M.  Linguet,  I  am  very  happy  to  see  you." 

"  But  my  proposal,"  resumed  he,  "  what  think  you  of  it  ? 
You  seem  to  laugh." 

"  That  does  not  prevent  me,"  answered  I,  "  from  giving  it 
just  weight.  I  promise  you  to  lay  it  before  the  King,  who 
knows  M.  Duchilleau  a  great  deal  better  than  I  do." 

"  But  if  you  laugh,"  said  he,  "  when  you  mention  it  to 
the  King,  he  will  laugh  also ;  and  your  affair  will  fail.  I  call 
it  your  affair,  and  not  M.  Duchilleau's  and  mine,  for  on  our 
part  it  is  a  sacrifice." 

I  wished  him  good  morning,  and  assured  him  that  I  would 
speak  to  the  King  with  all  the  seriousness  that  the  case  re- 
quired. 

I  received  the  same  day  a  note  from  Madame  Duchilleau, 
requesting  a  rendezvous  for  next  day,  which  I  gave  her.  I 
supposed  that  Linguet  had  given  her  an  account  of  our  con- 
versation, and  that  what  she  had  to  say  was  in  consequence 
of  it.  She  was  very  exact  in  coming  at  the  hour  I  had  ap- 
pointed. She  told  me  she  was  informed  of  her  husband's 
having  been  thought  of  for  the  Government  of  St.  Domingo; 
and  as  he  was  not  then  in  Paris,  she  came,  in  his  name,  to 
talk  with  me  upon  the  subject,  knowing  perfectly  well  the 
only  conditions  on  which  he  would  accept  that  situation. 
I  answered,  "  that  I  did  not  know  of  M.  Duchilleau's  having 
been  thought  of  for  the  Government  of  St.  Domingo;  that  it 

sufficient  note  in  his  day  to  draw  from  Voltaire  the  opinion  that 
"  M.  Linguet  is  an  advocate  of  much  wit  and  an  author  of  several 
books  in  which  philosophic  views  and  paradoxes  are  to  be  found  in 
plenty."  For  a  year  or  two,  1774-1776,  he  edited  the  "  Journal 
politique  et  litteraire." 

Although  a  free  lance,  who  had  spent  his  year  in  the  Bastille 
and  had  repaid  Joseph  II.  for  pensioning  and  protecting  him,  by  a 
violent  attack  on  his  Government,  this  curious  adventurer  has  the 
ill-fortune  to  be  guillotined  on  the  27  June  1794,  on  the  charge  of 
"  flattering  the  despots  of  Vienna   and  London." 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  299 

was  true  Linguet  had  mentioned  it  to  me  the  preceding  morn- 
ing, but  the  King  had  never  said  a  word  upon  the  subject. 
However  (I  added),  as  his  Majesty  may  possibly  have  an 
eye  to  M.  Duchilleau,  she  might,  if  she  pleased,  inform  me 
of  the  conditions  upon  which  he  would  accept  it."  She 
then  drew  out  of  her  pocket  a  memorandum  of  four  pages, 
which  she  read,  and  left  with  me.  The  principal  conditions 
were,  First,  The  payment  of  debts  contracted  by  M.  Duchil- 
leau, in  consequence  of  the  losses  he  had  sustained  by  being 
suddenly  dismissed  from  that  Government.  These  were  es- 
timated at  300,000  livres.  Secondly,  The  expense  of  his 
voyage  and  establishment,  200,000.  Thirdly,  Annual  salary 
as  governor,  300,000.  Fourthly,  The  cordon  rouge.  Fifthly, 
The  power  of  changing  and  replacing  all  civil  and  military 
officers.  Sixthly,  Carte  blanche  with  regard  to  his  manner  of 
conducting  his  administration,  &c.  &c. 

However  valuable  the  services  of  M.  Duchilleau  might  be, 
the  new  regulations  did  not  permit  their  being  purchased  at 
the  high  price  that  his  wife  set  upon  them;  and  she  assured 
me  that  she  positively  would  not  make  the  least  abatement  in 
her  demands.  Therefore  the  account  I  gave  of  these  condi- 
tions to  the  Council  served  only  to  show  the  high  opinion 
she  entertained  of  her  husband's  merit,  against  which  I 
am  far  from  raising  any  doubt.  I  was  not  acquainted 
with  M.  Duchilleau ;  was  but  imperfectly  informed  of  the 
situation  in  which  the  island  was,  when  he  was  at  St. 
Domingo;  and  I  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the  motives  of  his 
recall. 

Linguet  was  enraged  at  the  bad  success  of  his  proposals, 
and  endeavoured  to  avenge  himself,  by  taking  upon  him  to 
bring  forward  a  most  indecent  and  ridiculous  accusation 
against  me  in  the  Assembly.  Two  of  the  keepers  of  the  mag- 
azines  at   Trincoinale   in  the  East   Indies,  liavinj]:  boon  con- 


300  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

victed  of  embezzlement  to  the  value  of  more  than  a  million 
of  livres,  were  ordered  to  be  arrested,  and  sent  for  trial  to 
France.  The  documents  relating  to  this  affair  had  been 
transmitted  to  the  Minister  of  the  Marine;  and  there  was  a 
paper  amongst  them,  written  and  signed  by  both  of  the  ac- 
cusers, in  which  they  confessed  that  they  were  guilty  of  embez- 
zlement to  a  certain  extent,  but  that  the  value  of  the  effects 
which  they  had  embezzled  did  not  amount  to  more  than 
300,000  livres.  These  two  men,  whose  names  were  Labadie 
and  Gallet,  on  their  arrival  in  France,  had  been  lodged  in  the 
prison  at  Brest,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Eevolution;  and  the 
more  important  affairs  with  which  the  Ministers  were  at  that 
time  occupied  had,  very  fortunately  for  the  criminals,  pre- 
vented the  prosecution  of  their  trial.  As  they  were  convinced 
that  they  could  not  escape  a  capital  condemnation,  they  took 
care  not  to  complain  of  the  slowness  of  the  proceedings. 
Upon  the  suppression  of  the  ancient  courts  of  justice,  and 
the  establishment  of  new  judges,  this  affair  was  carried  be- 
fore the  tribunal  of  the  district  of  Quimper.  By  means  of 
money  and  intrigue  the  prisoners  contrived  to  bring  on  their 
trials  in  1791,  without  the  knowledge  of  Government;  con- 
sequently the  papers  which  were  in  my  office,  relative  to  this 
affair,  were  not  produced  against  them ;  and  the  court,  finding 
no  proof  of  their  guilt,  entirely  acquitted  them. 

The  prisoners  being  thus  set  at  liberty,  kept  themselves 
very  quiet,  and  never  sought  to  take  advantage  of  their  ac- 
quittal until  the  Assembly  took  under  their  protection  about 
twenty  seditious  fellows,  whom  M.  de  Fresne,  Governor  of 
Pondicherry,  had  sent  back  to  France.  A  decree  was  pro- 
nounced in  justification  of  those  twenty  persons,  attributing 
their  conduct  to  the  zeal  of  patriotism ;  and  an  order  was 
given  that  they  might  be  transmitted  back  to  the  Indies  at 
the  public  expense. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  301 

The  keepers  of  the  magazine  at  Trincomale  imagined  that 
this  decree  might  possibly  include  them,  and  came  to  me, 
representing  themselves  as  victims  of  despotism;  and  not  only 
demanded  to  participate  in  the  benefits  of  the  decree,  but 
also  claimed  the  sum  of  150,000  livres,  as  an  indemnification 
for  their  long  and  unjust  detention.  The  first  time  they 
came  to  my  levee,  to  present  their  memorial,  I  was  ignorant 
of  the  business :  but  I  told  them,  "  that  I  could  not  take  upon 
me  to  comprehend  them  in  the  decree,  as  the  persons  in  whose 
favour  it  was  issued  were  particularly  named;  and  there  were 
no  such  names  as  Labadie  or  Gallet  in  the  list.  That  with 
respect  to  the  indemnification  they  claimed,  I  would  examine 
their  right  to  it,  and  do  them  justice." 

They  returned  in  about  a  week  after;  and  though  they  had 
been  informed,  in  my  office,  that  the  papers  containing  the 
proofs  against  them  were  under  my  examination,  they  had 
the  effrontery  still  to  claim  an  indemnification. 

"  Are  you  in  your  senses  ?  "  said  I,  with  indignation,  and 
loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  all  the  people  who  had  come  to 
ray  levee. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  they,  rather  embarrassed  by  my  question. 

"  And  do  you  imagine,"  resumed  I,  "  that  1  am  so  little 
in  possession  of  mine,  as  to  grant  fifty  thousand  crowns  of 
indemnification  to  people  who  have  only  been  done  injustice 
to  in  not  having  been  hanged  according  to  their  deserts  ?  " 

"  How,  sir !     Were  we  not  acquitted  ?  " 

"  You  were  so,"  replied  I,  "  but  only  because  the  papers  of 
which  I  am  in  possession,  containing  the  proofs  against  you, 
were  not  produced.  But  here  tbey  are ;  and  you  may  depend 
upon  it  I  shall  order  the  matter  to  be  revised,  and  we  shall 
tben  see  what  is  due  to  you  for  having  stolen  from  tiie  Govern- 
ment, according  to  your  own  confession,  to  the  amount  of 
300,000  livres." 


302  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

This  speech  rather  confounded  them.  They  retired,  threat- 
ening to  complain  to  the  Assembly  of  my  ministerial  des- 
potism, of  my  harshness,  &c.  The  first  step  they  took  was 
to  consult  Linguet,  who,  with  the  utmost  alacrity,  undertook 
their  defence.  He  prepared  a  long  discourse,  in  the  form  of 
a  petition,  which  was  announced  to  the  Assembly  as  a  capital 
accusation  against  me.  This  was  sufficient  to  obtain  him 
permission  to  speak  as  soon  as  he  presented  himself  at  the 
bar,  and  to  gain  him  the  support  of  all  my  enemies  in  the 
Assembly. 

Having  fixed,  with  Linguet,  on  the  day  on  which  he  was 
to  bring  his  accusation,  they  advised  him  not  to  appear  until 
the  evening  meeting,  because  it  was  generally  less  punctually 
attended  than  those  of  the  morning;  and  it  would  therefore 
be  easier  to  bring  a  majority.  According  to  this  arrange- 
ment, Linguet  appeared  in  the  Assembly  at  the  evening  sit- 
ting, and  took  his  place  at  the  bar  betwixt  his  two  clients. 
Having  obtained  permission  to  speak,  he  began  his  discourse 
with  a  very  long  and  circumstantial  account  of  our  first  set- 
tlements in  the  Indies.  He  enlarged,  with  great  emphasis 
and  gesticulation,  upon  the  vices  of  their  administration, 
upon  the  incapacity  and  despotism  of  the  agents  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, &c.  The  Assembly  showed  symptoms  of  impatience 
at  an  harangue  so  little  to  the  point.  Linguet  continued, 
without  mercy.  At  last,  they  were  so  worn  out,  that  they 
uttered  deep  groans;  some  yawned  aloud;  one  called  out, 
"  Go  back  to  the  flood  !  "  others,  "  To  the  point ;  for  heaven's 
sake,  to  the  point."  Linguet,  irritated  at  this  insult,  only 
answered  by  looks  of  indignation,  which  he  darted  on  all 
sides  against  the  exclaimers.  The  President's  bell  at  last 
re-established  silence,  and  Linguet  again  took  up  the  thread 
of  his  discourse;  but  at  so  early  a  period  of  our  settlement, 
that  the  patience  of  the  members  being  exhausted,  the  cry 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  303 

"  Go  back  to  the  flood !  "  was  renewed  with  such  vehemence, 
that  the  President  thought  proper  to  request  of  M.  Linguet 
to  adhere  to  the  matter  contained  in  his  petition. 

"  I  know  better  tlian  any  one,"  answered  M.  Linguet,  with 
a  very  stately  air,  "  upon  what  the  interest  of  my  clients 
exacts  that  I  should  speak,  and  on  what  I  ought  to  be  silent. 
You  shall  hear  all  or  nothing." 

"  Nothing,  nothing,  nothing,"  was  echoed  from  all  sides. 
It  was  evident  that  the  nothings  had  it.  The  President 
granted  to  the  petitioners  the  honours  of  the  sitting,  and 
told  them  to  leave  their  petition  at  the  bar. 

"  No,  M.  le  President,"  answered  Linguet,  in  rage ;  "  I 
shall  carry  ofiE  m}'^  discourse,  since  the  Assembly  will  not  listen 
to  it ;  and  as  for  the  honours  of  the  sitting,  I  thank  you,  but  I 
have  something  else  to  do." 

Saying  this,  he  retreated  in  a  fury,  tearing  his  papers  to 
pieces,  to  the  great  mirth  of  the  audience. 

When  I  came  to  the  Council,  I  was  informed  of  every  cir- 
cumstance of  this  scene,  which  I  related  to  the  King,  who 
was  the  more  pleased  with  the  ludicrous  catastrophe,  because 
he  had  been  apprehensive  of  some  troublesome  consequence 
to  me  from  this  manoeuvre. 

In  this  same  Council  we  were  witnesses  to  a  scene  of  a 
very  different  nature,  much  too  interesting  to  be  passed  over 
in  silence.  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville  read  aloud  the  sketch  or 
rough  draft  of  a  proclamation  he  proposed,  relative  to  the 
assassination,  pillaging,  and  other  acts  of  violence,  at  that 
time  very  frequent;  particularly  against  the  nobility,  on  the 
pretext  of  aristocracy,  &c.  In  the  proposed  proclamation 
was  the  following  sentence,  "  Those  disorders  interrupt  the 
happiness  we  at  present  enjoy."  He  had  no  sooner  pro- 
nounced it  than  the  King  said,  "  That  sentence  must  be 
altered." 


304  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

M.  de  Gerville  having  read  the  expression  again,  replied, 
"  I  perceive  nothing  that  requires  to  be  altered,  Sire." 

"  Do  not  make  me  speak  of  my  happiness,"  resumed  his 
Majesty,  with  emotion.  "  I  cannot  authorize  such  a  false- 
hood. How  can  I  be  happy,  M.  de  Gerville,  at  a  time  when 
nobody  is  happy  in  France?  No,  sir,  the  French  are  not 
happy:  I  see  it  but  too  well.  They  will  be  so,  I  hope;  and  I 
wish  it  very  ardently.  When  that  time  arrives,  I  also  shall 
be  happy,  and  shall  then  be  able,  with  truth,  to  declare  it." 

These  words,  which  the  King  uttered  with  a  faltering 
voice,  made  a  lively  impression  upon  us,  and  was  followed 
by  a  general  silence,  which  prevailed  some  minutes.  His 
Majesty  being  apprehensive  that  those  marks  of  sensibility, 
which  he  had  not  been  able  to  repress,  would  raise  a  suspicion 
against  his  attachment  to  the  Constitution,  seized  an  oppor- 
tunity, which  M.  de  Gerville  afforded  him  a  few  minutes 
after,  of  showing  that  he  was  determined  to  adhere  very 
scrupulously  to  his  engagements  in  support  of  it;  for  in  an 
affair  reported  by  M.  de  Gerville,  he  pronounced  an  opinion 
more  strictly  conformable  to  the  letter  of  the  Constitution 
than  that  of  the  Minister  himself.  The  particulars  of  this  I 
need  not  give  at  present,  as  they  must  appear  hereafter,  in 
the  account  of  my  administration  which  I  laid  before  the 
Assembly  upon  my  dismission. 

As  M.  de  Gerville  was  more  enthusiastically  fond  of  the 
Constitution  than  any  one  of  the  Council,  he  was  confounded 
and  rather  abashed  to  find  that  the  King  was  inclined  to 
adhere  to  it  more  scrupulously  than  himself. 

It  was  a  remarkable  feature  in  the  King's  character,  which 
particularly  showed  the  turn  of  his  mind,  that  his  natural 
timidity,  and  the  difficulty  he  found  in  expressing  his  ideas, 
never  appeared  when  religion,  the  relief  of  the  people,  or  the 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  305 

happiness  of  France,  were  in  question.  Upon  these  occa- 
sions he  always  delivered  himself  with  an  energy  and  facility 
which  never  failed  to  astonish  the  new  Ministers,  who  were 
prepossessed  with  the  prevailing  opinion  of  the  King's  nar- 
row capacity.  I  do  not  pretend  to  assert  that  Louis  XVI. 
was  a  great  genius;  but  of  this  I  am  certain,  that  his  natural 
capacity  was  very  far  above  mediocrity;  and  that  had  it  been 
cultivated  by  an  education  better  calculated  to  fit  him  for 
his  future  rank  in  life,  he  would  have  ranked  among  the  best 
and  ablest  of  our  Kings.  We  had  daily  opportunities  of 
seeing  him  give  what  has  been  generally  considered  as  proofs 
of  an  active  and  comprehensive  mind.  Wliile  he  was  reading 
letters,  or  memorials,  or  newspapers,  he  could,  at  the  same 
time,  attend  to  the  discussions  of  the  Council  with  such  dis- 
tinctness and  discrimination  as  enabled  him  to  understand 
the  whole;  as  afterwards  appeared,  by  the  account  he  gave 
of  what  he  read  and  had  heard.  A  striking  instance  of 
this  occurred  one  day,  on  which  he  had  read  several  memo- 
rials, and  letters,  and  journals,  while  the  Ministers  were 
making  reports  on  the  affairs  of  their  departments,  and  par- 
ticularly while  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville  made  one,  on  a  question 
of  some  delicacy,  after  which  the  decision  was  postponed  for 
eight  days:  but  when  that  Minister,  in  making  his  second 
report,  happened  to  omit  an  essential  circumstance  whieli  had 
been  in  the  first,  the  King  directly  put  him  in  mind  of  it, 
to  the  astonishment  of  us  all,  who  had  believed  that  ho  had 
been  too  much  occupied  with  the  memorials  and  letters,  be- 
cause he  had,  at  the  time,  made  pertinent  observations  on 
them.  What  is  certain  is,  that  none  of  us  could  contend  with 
the  King  in  point  of  memory;  and  his  judgment  was  no  less 
excellent. 

This  I  can  afTirm  with  truth,  that  during  all  the  time  that 
Vol.  1—20 


306  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

I  was  in  administration,  every  paper  of  importance,  of  what- 
ever kind,  that  was  submitted  to  the  King's  examination, 
after  it  had  been  discussed  in  the  Council,  was  improved  by 
the  alterations  his  Majesty  suggested. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Measures  taken  by  the  Ministers  to  gain  over  the  principal  Jour- 
nalists of  Paris. —  M.  de  Narbonne  takes  upon  him  to  treat  with 
Brissot  and  Condorcet. —  Consequences  of  this  negotiation. — 
Atrocious  imputations  against  the  King  by  Brissot,  in  the  paper 
of  the  29th  of  January. —  I  denounce  this  paper  in  the  Council, 
and  propose  that  the  author  should  be  prosecuted. —  The  other 
Ministers  think  it  is  better  to  despise  this  insult. —  I  write  to 
the  King  upon  this  subject. —  Appearance  of  rupture  with  Algiers. 
—  Rapid  success  of  the  measures  employed  upon  this  occasion. — 
Remarkable  offer  of  the  Dey  to  the  King. —  Secret  message  of 
Tippoo  Sahib. —  His  presents. —  A  conversation  with  the  Queen. 

The  great  influence  which  the  Journals  had  on  the  public 
opinion  made  the  Ministers  think  it  of  importance  to  insure 
their  silence,  if  they  could  not  acquire  their  praise.  This 
question  was  thoroughly  discussed  in  a  committee  of  Min- 
isters, which  was  held  at  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville's.  M.  de 
Narbonne  took  it  upon  him  to  negotiate  with  Brissot,  author 
of  the  paper  intitled  Le  Patriote  Frangais,  and  with  Con- 
dorcet,^  author   of  La   Clironique   de  Paris.     The  result   of 

1  Marie  Jean-Antoine  Caritat,  Marquis  de  Condorcet,  was  a  member 
of  an  old  and  distinguished  family  of  Dauphine.  Before  the  Revolu- 
tion he  held  a  high  rank  in  the  literary  world  of  Paris,  which  he 
owed  both  to  his  undoubted  ability  and  to  his  especially  undoubted 
rank.  He  issued  an  excellent  edition  of  the  works  of  Voltaire,  anno- 
tated Pascal,  wrote  several  works  on  scientific  subjects  and  on  po- 
litical and  social  questions  such  as  negro  slavery  and  the  Rights  of 
Man.  He  also  edited  a  Journal  entitled  the  "  Chronique  de  Paris," 
which  was  too  refined,  decorous  and  artistic  to  compete  with  the  coarse 
and  brutal  newspapers  of  Brissot,  Cara,  or  Ilebert  and  had  conse- 
quently but  a  small  circulation,  even  in  Paris. 

Condorcet  was  not  a  member  of  the  Constituent  Assembly;  ho  en- 
tered public  life  for  the  first  time  when  he  was  elected  as  one  of 
the  Deputies  of  Paris  to  the  Legislative  Assembly,  Oct.  1792. 


308  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

this  negotiation  was,  that  the  two  Journalists  praised  M.  de 
!N"arbonne,  and  attacked  M.  de  Lessart  and  me  with  more 
virulence  than  ever.  We  remarked  this  to  M.  de  ISTarbonne, 
who  answered  that  he  had  expressed  his  displeasure  at  their 
conduct,  and  that  they  daily  gave  him  the  most  positive 
assurances  that  they  would  change  their  style ;  and  he  prom- 
ised to  speak  to  them  again.  He  did  so,  without  doubt,  but 
with  so  little  effect,  that  Brissot,  not  contented  with  attack- 
ing the  Ministers  in  whom  the  King  placed  the  greatest  con- 
fidence, even  pushed  his  audacity  the  length  of  publishing 
the  most  atrocious  calumnies  against  his  Majesty,  in  his  paper 
of  the  28th  of  January.  I  denounced  this  paper  in  the 
Council,  as  an  attempt  of  a  criminal  nature,  which  deserved 
exemplary  punishment :  but  the  Ministers,  who  had  been 
longer  in  office,  and  the  King  himself,  accustomed  to  de- 
spise pamphlets,  put  less  importance  upon  it.  They  did  not 
reflect,  that  although  in  times  of  tranquillity,  and  under  a 
well-regulated  Government,  the  insolence  of  a  journalist  may 
be  safely  despised,  yet  in  the  present  situation  of  France, 
such  an  incendiary  publication  kept  up  the  ferment  that  al- 

In  that  Assembly  there  were  few  men  of  rank  or  distinction  and 
Condorcet,  accordingly,  became  famous  as  a  convert  from  the  Noblesse 
to  the  cause  of  republicanism.  Reelected  to  the  Convention,  he  sat 
and  voted  with  the  Girondist  party. 

On  the  question  of  the  sentence  on  the  King  he  gave  the  following 
judgment,  "  Any  difference  in  the  punishment  of  the  same  crime  is 
an  attack  upon  Equality.  The  punishment  of  conspirators  is  death, 
but  this  punishment  is  contrary  to  our  principles  and  I  can  never 
vote  for  it.  I  give  my  vote  for  the  most  severe  punishment  next  to 
that  of  death  in  the  Penal  Code."  The  punishment  for  which  Con- 
dorcet voted  was  the  Galleys.  It  need  not  be  said  that  such  a  sen- 
tence was  far  more  cruel  and  cold-blooded  than  any  form  of  death. 
The  probability,  and  the  only  possible  condonation,  is  that,  like  others 
of  his  party  who  voted  for  the  appeal  to  the  people,  Condorcet  de- 
sired to  delay  the  King's  execution,  feeling  convinced  that  if  once  de- 
layed it  would  never  be  carried  out.  A  cowardly  policy  which 
speedily  recoiled  on  the  heads  of  the  Girondists.     Condorcet  escaped 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  309 

ready  existed  in  the  minds  of  the  populace,  and  tended  to 
excite  them  to  insurrection,  pillage,  and  murder;  and  the 
mode  so  long  adopted,  of  despising  the  insults  of  the  journal- 
ists, only  rendered  them  more  dangerous;  and  so  multiplied 
them,  that  their  punishment  became  impossible.  I  added, 
that  with  regard  to  his  Majesty,  if  he  persevered  in  thinking 
it  beneath  his  dignity  to  take  any  notice  of  such  calumnies, 
I  had  nothing  more  to  say :  but  as  for  myself,  although  I  was 
willing,  while  the  journalists  confined  themselves  to  general 
abuse,  to  overlook  and  despise  it,  yet  when  particular  and 
specific  facts  were  mentioned,  if  my  rank  as  Minister  pre- 
vented me  from  the  right  of  disproving  them,  I  should  desire 
leave  of  the  King  to  resign  my  situation,  and  submit  the  case 
to  a  court  of  justice,  that  the  falsehood  of  the  accusations 
might  be  made  manifest.  The  Ministers  admitted  the  force 
of  this  reasoning  with  respect  to  me,  but  said  it  could  not 
be  applied  to  attacks  made  on  the  King,  because  the  Con- 
stitution was  completely  silent  as  to  any  method  of  proceeding 
against  journalists  who  should  venture  to  publish  calumnies 
against  him. 

the  proscription  of  the  Slst  May  and  2nd  June  1793,  but  after  a 
violent  denunciation  by  Chabot,  a  Decree  of  Accusation  was  passed 
against  him  on  the  8th  July   1793. 

He  contrived  to  conceal  himself  in  the  house  of  a  friend,  where  he 
wrote  his  last  work,  "  A  sketch  of  the  Progress  of  the  Human  Mind," 
in  which  he  advocated  the  cult  of  the  Perfectability  of  Man  as  a 
substitute  for  the  worn-out  religion  of  Christianity.  Human  Per- 
fectability seems  a  strange  triumph  of  theory  over  the  experience  of 
one  who  had  endured  nine  months  of  the  Convention  and  was  now  a 
proscribed  refugee.  In  consequence  of  a  Decree  of  the  Convention 
sentencing  to  death  all  who  harboured  accused  or  suspected  persons, 
Condorcet  kept  his  retreat  and  after  some  wanderings  was  arrested 
and  imprisoned  at  Bourg  Royal  (known  at  the  time  as  Bourg-de- 
rp'galite). 

In  this  prison  he  committed  suicide  by  taking  a  poison  which  lie 
had  long  carried  concealed  on  liis  person,  27th  March  1794.  He  was 
buried  under  the  name  lie  ha<i  given  on  his  arrest,  Pierre  Simeon,  :\ui\ 
it  was  not  until  some  months  later  that  his  identity  was  estahlislicd. 


310  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

"No  express  law,"  answered  I,  "existed  in  ancient  Rome 
against  the  crime  of  parricide,  because  it  had  not  entered 
into  the  mind  of  the  Legislature  that  such  a  crime  would  be 
committed,  but  assuredly  it  was  never  meant  by  the  Eomans, 
that  a  son  who  murdered  his  father  should  pass  unpunished. 
In  my  opinion,  the  silence  of  the  Constitution  on  the  crime 
of  calumniating  the  King,  cannot  be  thought  more  favourable 
to  Brissot." 

Nevertheless,  upon  account  of  the  delicate  circumstances 
in  which  the  King  was  placed,  it  was  thought  prudent  to 
deliberate  upon  the  most  proper  manner  of  managing  this 
affair,  and  therefore  the  Ministers  agreed  to  take  it  into  con- 
sideration at  a  future  meeting. 

The  King  was  endowed  with  a  very  just  judgment,  but 
unhappily  of  so  timid  a  disposition,  and  so  distrustful  of 
himself,  that  he  was  apt  to  prefer  the  opinions  of  weaker 
people  to  his  own,  and  always  adopted  that  of  the  majority 
of  his  Council:  but  as  I  had  more  confidence  in  the  King's 
judgment  than  in  that  of  my  colleagues,  I  never  proposed 
any  thing  of  importance,  either  in  a  committee  of  the  Min- 
isters, or  in  Council,  without  having  first  submitted  it  to  his 
Majesty's  examination.  This  I  did  upon  the  present  occa- 
sion, as  appears  from  the  subsequent  letter,  which  I  wrote  the 
following  day  to  his  Majesty. 

"January   31,    1792. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  submit  to  your  Majesty  the  contents 
of  a  letter  to  the  National  Assembly,  respecting  the  execrable 
paper  the  Patriote,^  which  appeared  on  Sunday. 

"  After  mature  consideration  on  the  most  proper  steps  to 

2  The  article  in  Brissot's  "  Patriote,"  Sunday,  29th  Jan.  1792,  to 
which  Bertrand  alludes,  is  a  long  and  purely  imaginary  account  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  "  Austrian  Committee "  at  the  Tuileries. 
Louis  XVI.  is  attacked  only  by  implication.  The  Ministers  and  ex- 
Ministers  are  warned,  in  the  usual  form,  that  the  time  is  at  hand 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  311 

be  taken,  I  am  of  opinion,  that  a  denunciation  made  to  the 
Public  Prosecutor  by  the  Ministers,  either  as  agents  of  the 
executive  power,  or  as  citizens,  might  equally  be  considered  as 
irregular,  because  the  manner  of  proceeding  is  not  clearly 
indicated  in  the  Constitution:  but  it  evidently  lays  the  King 
under  the  obligation  of  employing  the  power  delegated  to  him 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  Constitution,  and  in  support  of 
the  laws.  This  obligation  comprehends  that  of  making  the 
constituted  powers  respected,  and  of  requiring  the  execu- 
tion of  the  seventeenth  article  of  the  fifth  chapter  of  the 
Constitution.  This  article  necessarily  applies  to  the  offense 
committed  by  the  author  and  printer  of  the  paper  entitled 
Le  Patriote  Frangais;  the  King  then  may  order  the  Public 
Prosecutor  to  give  them  up  to  justice.  It  may  even  be  main- 
tained, with  reason,  that  his  Majesty's  oath  to  the  Constitu- 
tion imports  that  very  obligation;  and  as  the  motives  which 
determine  such  a  step  are  of  considerable  importance,  it  would 
be  proper  for  the  King  to  inform  the  Assembly,  by  a  letter 
expressed  in  such  a  manner  as  would  make  a  favourable  im- 
pression. I  presume  that  the  letter,  a  copy  of  which  I  have 
the  honour  to  transmit  to  your  Majesty,  will  answer  the  pur- 
pose. Your  Majesty  will  please  to  let  me  know  whether  it 
has  your  approbation:  if  it  has,  I  shall  lay  it  this  evening 
before  the  Committee." 

when  they  shall  receive  their  just  recompense  from  the  infuriated 
People. 

The  most  curious  passage  in  the  article  is  the  following:  "The 
same  Committee  is  sending  to  London  an  American  intriguer  who 
calls  himself  the  Governor,  Morris"  (Brissot  had  not  mastered  Gou- 
verneur  Morris's  Christian  name)  "  who,  considering  that  he  is  a  citi- 
zen of  a  free  country,  has  played  the  sorriest  and  most  infamous  role 
during  the  Revolution. 

"  He  has  been  throughout  the  confidant  or  indeed  the  very  back- 
bone of  the  enemies  of  our  liberty."  Tliere  is  just  as  much,  or  just 
as  liltle  truth  in  this  strange  attack  on  (■ouvernour  Morris  as  in  tho 
rest  of  this,  or  any  number,  of  Brissot's  influential  Journal. 


312  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

His  Majesty  sent  me  the  following  answer: 

"  Your  advice  seems  to  me  good ;  and  the  letter  also,  ex- 
cepting some  words,  which  must  be  changed.  But  as  this 
affair,  which  appears  to  me  of  a  delicate  nature,  is  not  in 
your  Department,  and  as  the  order  and  the  letter  which  you 
propose  must  be  countersigned  by  the  Minister  of  Justice,  I 
shall  wait   the  determination  of  the  committee." 

In  this  committee  the  Ministers  agreed  that  the  form  which 
I  proposed  was  not  contrary  to  the  Constitution;  but  they 
thought  that  so  strong  a  measure  would  be  the  means  of  in- 
forming France,  and  all  Europe,  of  a  fact  now  known  only 
to  Brissot's  subscribers,  and  would  give  a  kind  of  celebrity  to 
that  journalist.  This  was  possible;  but  it  was  much  more 
certain,  that  entirely  overlooking  his  conduct  would  render 
him  more  audacious,  and  encourage  others  to  imitate  his 
example.  This  happened  accordingly;  for  from  that  period 
the  King  was  insulted  in  the  most  revolting  manner,  by 
innumerable  pamphlets,  of  which  the  people  became  the  echo, 
and,  by  degrees,  were  emboldened  to  that  degree,  that  crowds 
assembled  under  the  windows  of  the  Tuileries  almost  every 
evening,  and  poured  forth  the  grossest  abuse  against  the  King 
and  royal  family. 

At  this  period  France  was  menaced  with  a  rupture  with 
the  Regency  of  Algiers.  All  the  French  who  happened  to 
be  there  were  conveyed  back  to  Marseilles;  and  by  the  same 
transport,  an  order  was  sent  to  the  Algerines  to  quit  France 
immediately.  The  French  consul  at  Algiers  was  confined  to 
his  house  by  the  Dey's  orders,  and  expected  every  moment  to 
be  conducted  to  the  galleys.  The  motive  of  this  rupture  was 
the  pretended  negligence  of  France,  in  fulfilling  a  promise 
which  had  been  made  to  the  Dey,  of  lending  him  a  frigate  for 
the  purpose  of  transporting  his  ambassador  to  Constantinople. 
Some  agents  of  the  Court  of  Spain  had  excited  this  storm 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  31o 

at  Algiers.  They  persuaded  the  Dey  that  the  French  Eev- 
olution  having  annihilated  the  King's  authority,  it  was  no 
longer  in  his  power  to  fulfil  his  engagements;  that  the  As- 
sembly, which  reigned  in  his  place,  respected  none;  that  the 
Eegency  would  have  no  such  proceedings  to  apprehend  on 
the  part  of  the  Court  of  Spain;  and  in  order  to  convince  the 
Dey,  he  was  offered,  in  the  name  of  his  Catholic  Majesty,  a 
very  fine  Spanish  frigate  and  a  corvette,  which  had  just  then 
arrived  at  Algiers,  with  which  he  might,  if  he  pleased,  convey 
his  ambassador  to  Constantinople;  and  in  the  meantime  they 
begged  that  he  would  accept  of  a  corvette  as  a  present. 
These  offers,  which  the  Dey  readily  accepted,  determined  him 
to  break  openly  with  France,  imagining  that  he  could  brave 
its  resentment  with  impunity. 

I  was  informed  of  these  circumstances  by  a  courier-extraor- 
dinary, sent  by  the  African  Company  of  Marseilles,  who  were 
greatly  alarmed.  I  gave  an  account  of  them  to  the  Assem- 
bly, as  also  the  amicable  means  adopted  by  the  King  to  obtain 
satisfaction,  and  the  vigorous  measures  preparing,  in  case  it 
was  refused. 

The  frigate  promised  to  the  Dey  had  been  long  ready  in 
the  port  of  Toulon,  and  its  departure  was  only  retarded  in 
consequence  of  his  own  request  that  the  command  should  be 
given  to  Captain  Doumergue,  a  man  originally  from  France, 
but  who  had  been  long  settled  in  Algiers,  and  was  strongly 
protected  by  the  Dey,  who  had  an  interest  in  most  of  his 
commercial  schemes.  That  he  might  turn  such  an  oppor- 
tunity to  greatest  profit,  Doumergue  had  come  to  France  to 
provide  an  advantageous  cargo ;  and  the  time  necessary  for 
this  was  the  sole  cause  of  the  frigate's  being  so  long  detained. 
But  it  was  now  sent  off  with  the  utmost  dispatcli,  under  the 
command  of  an  intelligent  officer,  who  had  instructions  to 
explain  the  whole  affair  to  the  Dey,  and  to  require  satisfac- 


314  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

tion  for  the  insult  which  the  French  consul  had  received. 
Captain  Doumergue  was  sent  with  him,  as  an  incontestible 
witness  of  the  truth  of  these  facts.  The  winds  being  favour- 
able, the  voyage  was  short :  but  on  their  arrival  before  Algiers, 
the  frigate  was  refused  entrance  into  the  harbour,  by  the 
express  command  of  the  Regency.  Captain  Doumergue  was 
then  sent  ashore  in  a  boat.  He  waited  upon  the  Dey,  had 
the  order  revoked,  and  in  less  than  two  hours  the  frigate 
sailed  into  the  harbour.  The  officer  who  commanded  it  soon 
obtained  an  audience  of  the  Dey,  who  was  perfectly  satisfied 
with  the  explanation  he  received,  and  acknowledged  he  had 
been  deceived,  but  threw  the  whole  blame  upon  the  French 
consul,  who  had  allowed  him  to  remain  in  error;  and  he 
demanded  that  he  should  be  recalled.  On  the  following  day 
the  commander  of  the  frigate  was  admitted  to  a  second  audi- 
ence, and  was  received  with  distinguished  respect.  The  Dey 
made  him  sit  down  by  him,  contrary  to  the  usual  custom,  and 
talked  of  the  affairs  of  France,  particularly  of  the  situation 
of  the  King,  with  the  most  lively  interest.  He  told  him  that 
he  had  given  orders  for  six  Arabian  horses  to  be  conveyed 
on  board  his  ship,  as  a  present  for  his  Majesty;  and  that  it 
was  his  intention  to  adhere  to  the  treaty  betwixt  France  and 
Algiers;  and  in  order  to  do  honour  to  this  mission,  he  con- 
sented that  the  trade  of  France  should  this  year  draw  from 
Algiers  three  vessels  of  grain  over  and  above  the  number  fixed 
by  the  last  treaty.  Next  day  the  commander  of  the  frigate 
took  his  leave,  and  the  Dey  gave  him  a  letter  for  the  King. 
This  officer  set  sail  for  Toulon,  where  he  arrived  in  as  sbort 
time,  as  he  had  taken  in  the  crossing  betwixt  Toulon  and 
Algiers,  so  that  his  mission  was  fulfilled  in  less  than  eight; 
days ;  and  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  announcing  to  the  As- 
sembly the  issue,  three  weeks  after  I  had  announced  the  ru])- 
ture  with  Algfiers. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  315 

The  rapidity  and  success  of  this  negotiation  excited  so  great 
a  surprise,  that  my  enemies  affected  to  believe  the  whole 
affair  to  be  a  romance,  fabricated  for  the  purpose  of  diverting 
their  attention  from  the  denunciation  against  me.  And  this 
opinion  would  probably  have  prevailed,  if  the  Arabian  horses 
had  not  arrived,  and  if  the  deputies  of  the  Department  of 
the  Bouches  dn  Rhone  had  not  been  informed  of  the  truth  by 
their  con'espondents. 

In  the  Dey's  letter  to  his  Majesty,  among  many  expressions 
of  friendship  and  good  will,  he  offered  to  assist  the  King  to 
reduce  his  rebellious  subjects,  in  order  to  restore  him  to  the 
possession  of  his  just  authority.  It  will  easily  be  believed, 
that  in  the  translation  of  this  letter,  which  I  laid  before  the 
Assembly,  I  took  care  to  suppress  this  sentence,  which  I  should 
have  been  suspected  of  having  suggested ;  and  it  would  certainly 
have  been  cited  in  the  Journals  as  a  proof  of  the  existence 
of  a  horrible  plot  against  the  liberty  of  the  nation. 

During  the  negotiation  wath  Algiers,  a  secret  message  was 
sent  to  the  King  from  Tippoo  Sahib,^  who  demanded  of 
the  King  6000  French  troops,  offering  to  pay  their  trans- 
portation, clothing  and  maintenance.  He  was  convinced,  that 
with  this  assistance  he  could  destroy  the  English  army  and 

3  Tippoo  Sahib,  Sultan  of  Mysore,  was  a  determined  and  danger- 
ous enemy  of  British  rule  in  Southern  India.  In  1780,  lie  laid 
waste  the  Carnatic  almost  to  the  gates  of  Madras,  but  after  two 
years'  hard  fighting  he  was  compelled  to  resign  a  large  portion  of 
his  dominions,  to  pay  a  hea\y  indemnity  and  to  surrender  his 
two  sons  to  the  British  as  hostages.  It  was  during,  or  immediately 
after,  this  war  that  he  entered  into  the  negotiations  mentioned 
here.  Tippoo  continued  his  overtures  to  the  Convention  and  Direc- 
tory. 

WHien  Bonaparte  invaded  Egypt  in  1798  he  made  tempting  offers 
to  him  which  were  interrupted  by  the  British  rrovernmont.  War 
was  again  declared  against  him  in  March  1700  and  after  he  had  l)een 
beaten  in  the  field,  his  capital,  Seringapatam.  was  besieged. 

On  the  4th  May.  the  fort  was  successfully  stormed  and  Tippoo 
slain  while  fighting  in  the  breach. 


316  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

settlements  in  India,  and  ensure  the  possession  to  France. 
That  nothing  might  transpire  of  this  affair,  Tippoo  had  not 
mentioned  it  in  his  council,  and  had  secretly  negotiated  the 
business  with  M.  de  Fresne,  governor  of  Pondicherry,  through 
the  means  of  M.  Leger,  administrateur  civil  of  France  in  India, 
who  understood  the  Persian  language,  and  who  wrote  the  dis- 
patches dictated  by  Tippoo  relative  to  this  embassy.  M. 
Leger  himself  came  from  India  to  France  with  this  message; 
and  in  order  to  conceal  the  real  object  of  his  voyage,  some 
time  before  he  set  out  he  had  declared  that  his  private  affairs 
would  oblige  him  to  return  immediately  to  France. 

As  M.  Leger  was  directed  to  the  minister  of  marine,  I  in- 
formed the  King  of  Tippoo  Sahib's  proposal;  but  notwith- 
standing its  advantages,  and  although  the  insurrection  of  the 
negroes  of  St.  Domingo  rendered  it  necessary  to  send  a  con- 
siderable force  there,  under  the  pretence  of  which  it  would  have 
been  easy  to  have  sent  to  the  East  Indies  the  6000  men  de- 
manded by  Tippoo,  without  raising  the  suspicion  of  the  En- 
glish government;  the  natural  probity  of  the  King's  mind 
would  not  permit  him  to  adopt  this  measure.  "  This  re- 
sembles," said  he,  "  the  affair  of  America,  which  I  never  think 
of  without  regret.  My  youth  was  taken  advantage  of  at  that 
time,  and  we  suffer  for  it  now.  The  lesson  is  too  severe  to  be 
forgotten." 

The  message  of  Tippoo  Sahib  was  accompanied  with  pres- 
ents for  the  King  and  Queen.  Those  destined  for  the  King 
consisted  of  an  assortment  of  gold  gauze,  crimson  silk  stuffs 
flowered  with  gold,  painted  linen  for  three  Persian  dresses, 
twelve  pieces  of  white  linen  of  the  finest  quality,  an  aigrette 
of  bad  diamonds,  flat  and  yellow  and  ill  set,  with  a  clasp 
ornamented  in  the  same  taste.  The  presents  for  the  Queen 
were  still  less  valuable,  consisting  merely  of  three  bottles 
half  full  of  Indian  essences,  of  a  very  inferior  quality,  and 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  317 

a  box  of  perfumed  powder  balls  and  scented  matches.  When 
I  presented  the  stuffs  and  diamonds  to  the  King,  he  said  to 
me,  laughing,  "What  can  I  do  with  all  this  trumpery?  It 
seems  only  proper  to  dress  up  dolls.  But  you  have  little  girls ; 
they  may  be  pleased  with  them.     Give  the  whole  to  them." 

"But  the  diamonds.  Sire,"  said  I. 

"  0,  they  are  mighty  fine,  to  be  sure,"  added  he,  smiling. 
"  Perhaps  you  would  have  them  placed  among  the  jewels  of 
the  Crown.  Pray  take  them  also,  and  wear  them  in  your  hat, 
if  you  please." 

The  Queen  would  receive  only  one  bottle  of  the  essence  of 
roses.  She  made  me  a  present  of  the  rest,  saying,  that  she 
valued  nothing  which  came  from  India,  except  the  beautiful 
linen.  I  then  begged  she  would  permit  me  to  present  her  with 
that  which  the  King  gave  me  the  preceding  day. 

"Willingly,"  said  the  Queen:  "but  I  won't  take  it  all. 
How  many  pieces  are  there  ?  " 

"  Twelve,  Madame,"  answered  I. 

"  Well,"  said  she,  "  bring  me,  at  first,  two  pieces,  and  I  will 
see  whether  they  suit  me.  Besides,  you  will  by  this  means 
have  an  apparent  motive  of  seeing  me  oftener,  without  raising 
suspicion  that  you  come  to  the  pretended  Austrian  Com- 
mittee." 

She  then  expressed  how  much  the  King  had  been  hurt  by 
that  atrocious  calumny,  which  they  daily  endeavoured  to  con- 
firm in  the  public  papers  by  the  most  absurd  falsehoods. 

During  the  conversation,  the  little  Dauphin,*  beautiful  as 

4  Louis  Charles,  Dauphin  of  France,  afterwards  titular  King, 
Louis  XVII.,  was  born  at  Versailles  on  the  27th  March  1785.  The 
story  of  his  short  life  is  so  sordid  and  pitiful  that  it  is  best  told  in 
the  fewest  possible  words.  When  the  Dauphin  entered  the  Temple 
from  which  ho  was  never  again  to  emerge,  13  August  1792,  he 
was  in  his  eighth  year.  On  the  death  of  Louis  XVI.  he  was  pro- 
claimed by  his  uncle,  afterwards  Louis  XVIII.  and  by  the  Chiefs  of 
the  Army  as  La  Vendie,  under  the  title  of  Louis  XVII. 


318  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

an  angel;,  was  singing  and  skipping  about  the  Queen's  apart- 
ment, with  a  small  wooden  sabre  and  shield  in  his  hand,  which 
had  been  given  him  that  day.  They  came  to  take  him  away 
to  supper,  and  in  two  bounds  he  was  at  the  door. 

"  How  now,  my  son ! "  said  the  Queen ;  "  you  are  going 
without  making  a  bow  to  M.  Bertrand." 

He  naturally  became  an  object  of  deep  interest  to  the  many 
French  royalists,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  one  plot  after 
another  for  his  release  was  discovered.  The  Committee  of  Public 
Safety,  alarmed  and  naturally  disposed  towards  brutality,  ordered 
the  boy  to  be  separated  from  his  mother,  aunt  and  sister  and  to 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  "  Tutor."  This  was  carried  out  with 
every  additional  brutality  which  the  Commission  of  the  Municipality 
could  think,  on  the  31st  July  1793.  The  "  tutor  "  recommended  by 
Marat  and  appointed  by  the  Municipality,  from  their  own  General 
Council,  was  a  cobbler  named  Antoine  Simon,  Member  of  the  In- 
surrectionary Municipality  10th  August  1792  and  of  the  Cordelier 
Club,  who  was  to  receive  500  f ranees  per  month,  but  was  ordered 
under  no  circumstances  to  leave  the  Temple  by  day  or  night. 
Simon  was  a  drunken,  illiterate  brute  and  his  wife  was  little  better. 

They  beat  and  abused  him,  made  him  drunk,  and  taught  him 
as  much  blasphemy  and  obscenity  as  they  were  themselves  possessed 
of. 

Of  the  horrible  charges  against  his  mother,  aunt,  and  sister  which 
they  forced  him  to  sign  it  is  best  to  say  nothing.  The  whole  pro- 
ceeding was  thoroughly  characteristic  of  Chaumette  and  Hebert.  On 
the  19th  January  1794  the  Simons,  man  and  wife,  left  the  Temple. 
Simon  himself  was  guillotined  with  Robespierre,  Saint  Just,  Couthon 
and  others  on  the  28th  July  1794.  His  wife  became  a  chronic  in- 
valid and   died  in  a  hospital   for   incurables   in    1819. 

The  Committee  of  Public  Safety  declined  to  appoint  a  second 
"  tutor,"  and  the  Municipality,  left  to  their  own  devices,  locked 
the  child  up  in  a  small  room,  closed  and  padlocked  with  a  grille 
through  which  food  and  occasional  clean  linen  could  be  passed. 
Here  he  remained  absolutely  alone  and  in  silence,  except  for  the 
daily  "  Inspection  "  by  the  Commissioners  and  Guard  of  the  Munici- 
pality, who  usually  came  about  midnight  with  brutal  gibes  and  harsh 
orders   to  the   brat   to   show  himself. 

This  state  of  things  lasted  for  more  than  six  months  and  was 
ended,  with  so  many  other  horrors,  by  the  fall  of  Robespierre.  The 
child  was  then  visited  and  found  in  a  state  of  indescribable  misery 
by    Barras    and    other    members    of    the    Convention.     Some    efforts 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  319 

"  0,  mamma/'  said  he  smiling,  and  continuing  to  jump, 
"  is  not  M.  Bertrand  one  of  our  friends  ?  Good  night,  M.  Ber- 
trand !  "     So  saying,  he  bounded  out  of  the  room. 

"  Is  he  not  very  pretty  ? "  said  the  Queen,  when  he  was 
'  gone.  "  He  is  happy  also  in  being  so  young ;  for,"  added  she, 
with  a  sigh,  "he  does  not  feel  our  sorrows,  and  his  gaiety 
does  us  good." 

were  made  to  alleviate  his  condition  but  it  was  too  late.  He  sank 
rapidly  and  died  of  incurable  scrofula  on  the  8th  June   1795. 

Immediately  after  his  death,  the  rumours  as  to  his  identity,  which 
are  still  in  full  circulation,  began. 

The  question,  which  remains  still  unanswered,  was  and  is,  whether 
the  child  who  died  in  the  Temple  was  Louis  XVII.  or  whether 
he  was  a  substitute  for  the  real  Louis  who  had  been  rescued  at  an 
earlier  period.  The  grounds  on  which  these  rumours  are  based  are  — 
first;  the  fact  that  Simon's  widow  while  in  a  hospital  for  Incurables 
repeatedly  declared  that  when  she  and  her  husband  left  the  Temple, 
they  were  handsomely  paid  to  carry  off  Louis,  and  to  substitute  for 
him  a  deaf  and  dumb  child  who  was  immediately  walled  up  as  de- 
scribed above.  Secondly;  the  fact  that  the  physician  who  attended 
the  child  on  his  death  bed  never  having  seen  the  Dauphin,  could 
not  really  identify  him.  They  were  told  that  the  child  was  "  Louis 
Capet "  and  they  worded  their  certificate  of  death  accordingly. 
Thirdly;  certain  acts  and  expressions  of  Louis'  uncles  and  still  more 
80  of  his  sister,  the  Duchess  d'Angouleme,  which  seemed  or  even 
held  to  imply  an  abuse  of  affection  for,  or  interest  in,  the  child 
of  the  Temple.  Humour,  credulity  and  the  cult  of  the  myste- 
rious vary  little  from  age  to  age.  Just  as  the  death  of  our  own 
Edward  V.  and  his  brother  in  the  Tower,  produced  such  impostors 
as  Perkin  Lambeck  and  Lambeth  Simnel,  bo  did  the  death  of  this 
unhappy  child,  with  the  slight  tinge  of  suspicion  which  clung  to 
it,  produce  a  whole  generation  of  such  pretenders  as  the  Naundorffs, 
the  Richmonts  and  the  Eleazer  Williams.  There  are  said  to  have 
been  in  all,  forty  of  these  impostors,  all  of  whom  no  doubt  found 
a  sufficient  supply  of  believers  to  provide  them  with  food,  drink  and 
clothes,  on  easy  terms. 

The  latest  theory  on  the  subject  is  that  of  Mr.  Joseph  Turquan, 
who,  on  the  strength  of  the  skeleton  of  a  child  recently  found  in 
the  fosse  of  the  Temple,  maintains  that  Louis  XVII.  was  murdered 
on  the  day  when  the  Simons  left  the  Bastille,  29  January  1794,  and 
was  at  once  secretly  buried;  that  a  scrofulous  child  of  his  own  age 
was    substituted,    in    order   that    the    murder    might    remain    undis- 


320  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

Unable  to  speak,  I  wiped  my  eyes,  and  her  Majesty  resumed, 
"  They  harass  you  also,  M.  Bertrand :  but  you  pay  no  regard 
to  them,  for  they  do  not  know  the  Constitution  so  well  as  you 
do.  Are  you  not  afraid,  however,  that  those  permissions  of 
absence  to  naval  officers,  which  you  are  accused  of  having 
granted  in  such  profusion,  will  turn  out  ill?  The  King," 
continued  she,  "  is  really  uneasy  on  that  head." 

"  I  am,  assuredly,  infinitely  honoured,"  replied  I,  "  and 
grateful  for  the  interest  which  the  King  and  your  Majesty 
take  in  that  accusation,  which,  however,  is  too  ill-founded  to 
give  me  any  uneasiness." 

"  But,  after  all,"  resumed  the  Queen,  "  how  many  have  you 
granted  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  exactly  tell,"  answered  I ;  "  but  I  should  think 
about  a  hundred.  This,  however,  I  d(?  know  for  certain, 
that  of  all  I  have  granted,  there  is  not  a  single  one  which  I 
would  not  grant  again  to-morrow;  because,  in  spite  of  all  the 
noise  raised  by  my  accusers,  every  one  of  those  permissions 
has  been  granted  conformably  to  the  existing  laws." 

"  I  am  happy,"  answered  she,  "  to  see  you  in  this  perfect 
security;  but  be  upon  your  guard  against  their  secret  malice, 
for  your  innocence  will  be  no  security  against  that." 

covered,  and  that  the  legal  documents  necessary  to  attest  the  death 
of  Louis  XVII.  might  be  obtained  when  the  substituted  child  died, 
his  death  being  only  a  question  of  a  few  months.  According  to 
Mr.  Turqnan,  the  Duchess  d'Angouleme  and  the  other  members  of 
the  Royal  family  were  made  acquainted  with  these  facts  after 
their  return  to  France  in  1814,  which  accounts  for  the  coldness 
with  which  the  child  was  spoken  of  by  th£m  and  of  his  sister's  re- 
fusal to  accept  his  heart,  which  had  been  carried  away  by  one  of 
the  doctors  and  was  offered  to  her  after  the  Restoration.  Whether 
Mr.  Turgain's  theory  is  the  final  solution  of  a  problem,  wliich  in 
my  opinion  is  no  problem  at  all,  remains  to  be  seen.  His  book  is  at 
least   ingenious   and   interesting. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTEE  XYll. 

Insulting  letter  from  the  President  of  the  Assembly  to  the  King, 
which  his  Majesty  sends  to  the  ministerial  committee. —  Letter 
written  by  me,  upon  this  occasion,  to  the  King. —  Important 
measures  are  taken  to  form  a  royalist  party  in  the  Assembly, 
which  fail,  through  the  indiscretion  of  M.  de  Narbonne. —  A 
division  in  the  Council. —  Its  consequences. 

The  Assembly,  seeing  how  much  the  Ministers  had  lost  credit 
by  their  conduct  and  by  their  want  of  unanimity,  became  every 
day  more  enterprising.  Condorcet  being  named  President 
about  the  beginning  of  February,  was  ordered  by  the  Assembly 
to  write  a  letter  to  the  King:  but  as  the  form  in  which  the 
President  was  to  address  letters  to  the  King  had  not  been 
regulated  by  the  Constitution,  after  some  discussion,  it  was 
decreed  that  the  President  of  the  National  Assembly,  in  writ- 
ing to  the  King,  should  lay  aside  the  term  Sire  and  directly 
begin  with  the  subject  of  the  letter ;  and  afterwards  finish  and 
sign  it  without  any  of  the  accustomed  expressions  of  respect. 

Condorcet  accordingly  wrote  the  following  letter  according  to 
the  form  prescribed,  which,  after  being  submitted  to  the  As- 
sembly, was  sent  by  one  of  the  messengers  to  the  King.  "  The 
National  Assembly,  Sire,  charges  me  to  make  known  to  you 
that  it  confines  itself  to  demanding  the  complete  carrying  out 
of  the  Law  of  the  17  June  1T91  (regulating  tlio  manner  in 
which  the  King  and  the  Assembly  should  communicate  with 
each  other).  It  attaches  no  importance  to  the  number  of 
deputies  who  compose  the  deputation.  It  cares  only  that 
there  should  be  no  interruption  in  the  communications  be- 
VoL.  1—21 


322  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

tween  itself  and  you  and  it  wishes  to  put  an  end  to  all  ambi- 
guity on  this  point." 

The  President  of  the  National  Assembly,  Condorcet. 

I  was  with  him  in  his  apartment  when  the  letter  was  de- 
livered.    He  appeared  to  be  greatly  shocked  on  reading  it. 

"  Is  it  possible  to  carry  insolence  farther  ?  "  said  he,  pre- 
senting the  letter  to  me.     "  It  is  from  Condorcet." 

After  having  read  it,  I  observed,  that  if  the  letter  had 
been  addressed  to  a  clerk  of  the  Assembly,  it  could  not  have 
been  written  in  a  less  respectful  style. 

"I  hope,"  added  I,  "that  your  Majesty  will  not  allow  this 
insolence  to  pass  unnoticed." 

"  It  is  rather  too  much  to  be  entirely  overlooked,"  an- 
swered the  King.     "  But  what  measure  is  to  be  taken  ?  " 

"  In  your  Majesty's  place,  I  would  immediately  send  back 
the  letter  to  the  Assembly.  But  I  will  not  take  upon  me  to 
give  you  this  advice  until  I  have  reflected  further  upon  it." 

"  Is  not  there  to  be  a  ministerial  committee  this  evening  ?  " 
resumed  the  King.  "  Go  you  to  M.  le  Garde  des  Sceaux,  and  I 
shall  send  him  the  letter." 

I  immediately  went  to  the  house  of  the  Garde  des  Sceaux, 
and  informed  him  and  my  colleagues,  who  were  already  there, 
of  what  had  passed.  Soon  after  the  King  sent  Condorcet's 
letter;  and  they  were  all  so  much  revolted  upon  reading  it, 
that  I  expected  they  would  advise  the  King  to  repel  the  insult 
in  the  strongest  terms :  but  upon  examining  the  different  ar- 
ticles of  the  Constitution,  they  found  that  the  case  in  question 
had  not  been  foreseen,  and  they  therefore  concluded  that  it 
would  be  most  prudent  for  the  King  to  make  no  answer  to  the 
letter,  which  would  sufficiently  mark  his  displeasure. 

On  the  contrary,  my  opinion  was,  that  the  silence  of  the 
Constitution,  on  this  head,  only  proved  that  it  had  never  been 
doubted  but  that  tlie  respect,  wliich  had  ever  been  considered 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH,  323 

as  due  to  the  King,  was  to  be  continued.  But  if  they  sup- 
posed that  this  silence  authorised  the  slightest  deviation  from 
respect  to  his  Majesty,  they  might  also  suppose  that  it  author- 
ised the  greatest  enormities ;  for  nothing  was  said  in  the  Con- 
stitution against  insulting  or  even  murdering  the  King.  That 
besides,  the  form  of  correspondence  betwixt  the  King  and  the 
Assembly  being  already  fixed,  namely,  by  presenting  their 
decrees,  or  sending  verbal  messages  by  a  deputation  of  the  mem- 
bers, he  had  a  right  not  to  admit  of  any  innovation  which 
displeased  him.  That  if  they  imagined  there  was  any  energy 
in  the  measure  of  not  answering  Condorcet's  letter,  they  must 
acknowledge  that  it  was  an  energy  of  a  passive  nature;  and 
that  in  the  King's  situation,  such  a  kind  of  energy  would 
prove  as  hurtful  as  real  weakness,  as  it  tended  to  show  that 
he  was  hurt,  without  having  power  to  resent  the  injury. 

These  reflections  determined  me  to  write  the  following  letter 
to  the  King,  on  the  8th  of  February  1792: 

"Your  Majesty  has  been  advised  to  take  no  notice  of  the 
President  of  the  Assembly's  letter.  I,  on  the  contrary,  think, 
that  tolerating  this  insult  will  draw  on  many  others,  much 
more  serious  in  their  consequences.  It  appears  to  me  of  the 
highest  importance  for  your  Majesty  to  write  immediately  to 
the  Assembly.  I  send  the  copy  of  a  letter;  and  if  your 
Majesty  approves  of  it,  the  ministers  may  be  instantly  sum- 
moned, and  the  letter  communicated  to  them,  in  your  own 
hand-writing.     Mine  ought  not  to  appear." 

Copy  of  the  Letter  to  the  Assembly. 

"  Gentlemen, 

"  When  the  nation  acknowledged  me  for  its  King,  I  was  en- 
trusted with  the  national  dignity,  which  I  cannot,  in  any  cir- 
cumstance, allow  to  be  attacked.  I  therefore  return  the  letter 
which  the  President  sent  me  yesterday  by  a  inesscngcr.     'J'he 


324  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OP 

Constitution  lias  fixed  the  form  of  correspondence  betwixt  the 
Xational  Assembly  and  the  King.  I  ought  not  and  I  will 
not  correspond  with  it  in  any  other  manner  than  by  that  form ; 
namely,  by  messages.  As  for  that  respect  which  is  due  to  me, 
I  will  rely  on  the  sentiments  which  the  French  have  always 
had  for  their  Kings." 

This  measure  appeared  to  his  Majesty  too  strong,  and  the 
negative  energy  of  silence  was  preferred;  consequently  no 
answer  was  given  to  the  letter  of  the  President. 

To  augment  the  King's  popularity  was  at  all  times  the  ob- 
ject of  the  Ministers,  but  more  particularly  on  those  occasions 
when  the  Assembly  treated  him  with  insolence;  and  the  letter 
of  Condorcet  was  the  greatest  outrage  which  his  Majesty  had 
as  yet  received.  He  was  advised  to  make  a  tour  round  the 
suburbs  on  horseback,  to  converse  affably  with  the  people,  to 
visit  the  hospitals,  and  distribute  alms.  These  acts  of  hu- 
manity, so  much  in  unison  with  his  character,  gained  him  the 
applause  of  some  people  in  the  street,  who  cried  Vive  le  Roi! 
but  no  other  advantage  ensued. 

The  formation  of  their  Majesties'  household,  which  the 
Ministers  had  hitherto  neglected,  was  now  regarded  as  a 
measure  of  the  utmost  importance,  particularly  as  they  flat- 
tered themselves  that  the  King  would  be  prevailed  upon  only 
to  admit  persons  of  acknowledged  patriotism;  therefore  the 
committee  of  Ministers  again  took  up  this  affair,  and  some  of 
them  proposed  plans,  and  gave  in  lists  of  those  whom  they 
wished  to  have  received  into  the  household. 

I  informed  the  King,  by  the  following  letter,  that  Ministers 
were  occupied  on  this  subject : 

"  In  the  committee  of  yesterday,  your  Majesty's  household 
was  one  subject  of  discussion.  A  list  has  been  made  of  thirty 
persons  who  are  to  be  proposed.     The  farther  consideration  is 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  325 

deferred  till  Tuesday.  The  ancient  almanac  of  Versailles,  and 
that  of  the  court  of  London,  are  to  be  consulted. 

"  As  my  desire  is  to  present  your  Majesty  with  a  plan  for 
that  purpose,  and  such  a  list  as  will  be  agreeable  to  you,  I 
take  the  liberty  of  requesting  that  your  Majesty  will  let  me 
know  your  wishes  on  both  these  points,  and  I  shall  use  every 
means,  in  the  committee,  to  promote  them.  This  I  will  en- 
deavour to  do  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  all  suspicion 
of  my  having  received  such  a  mark  of  confidence;  having  no 
view  but  that  of  giving  to  your  Majesty  a  fresh  proof  of  my 
respect  and  unlimited  attachment." 

The  King  sent  me  no  answer  to  this  letter:  but  when  I 
went  to  the  levee,  the  same  day,  he  approached  the  window 
where  I  was  standing,  and  while  he  seemed  to  be  looking  at 
what  was  passing  in  the  court  of  the  palace,  he  said,  in  a  low 
voice,  "  I  received  your  letter.  Let  them  take  their  own 
course." 

I  was  at  this  time  occupied  with  the  Garde  des  Sceaux  and 
M.  de  Lessart,  in  a  measure  of  far  greater  importance.  We 
were  endeavouring  to  form,  secretly,  a  royalist  party  in  the 
Assembly,  and  had  already  gained  over  eight  or  ten  members 
of  great  influence  on  the  Eight ;  that  is  to  say,  among  the  mod- 
erate party;  and  it  was  only  necessary  to  give  them  the 
means  of  influencing  that  party  distinguished  by  the  title  of  the 
Independents,  or  the  undecided,  who  voted  sometimes  with  tlie 
Moderates  and  sometimes  with  the  Enrages,  some  of  whom  were 
supposed  to  have  no  other  reason  but  to  announce  tliat  they 
were  to  be  bought,  and  would  join  the  party  which  offered 
them  the  best  terms.  It  was  very  well  known,  from  the  man- 
ner in  which  this  assembly  was  composed,  tliat  tliere  were 
few  of  the  members  who  wore  not  to  be  gained  cither  by 
money,  or  the  promise  of  places  for  their  relations  and  friends. 


326  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

As  the  power  of  nominating  to  places  belonged  to  each  minis- 
ter for  his  own  department  only,  it  was  necessary  to  acquaint 
them  all  with  this  plan,  in  order  that  they  might  all  concur  in 
its  execution.  Tor  this  purpose,  we  all  assembled  at  the  house 
of  M.  de  Narbonne,  who  gave  us  a  dinner,  along  with  a  certain 
person  who  was  to  be  a  principal  agent  in  this  business,  as  be- 
ing intimately  acquainted  with  many  members  of  the  As- 
sembly. That  this  dinner  might  be  the  more  secret,  we  met 
at  the  petite  maison  of  M.  de  Narbonne.  After  dinner,  this 
person  presented  to  us  the  proposals  of  the  principal  depu- 
ties, with  whom  he  had  already  begun  to  treat,  and  the  follow- 
ing articles  were  agreed  upon : 

First,  That  none  of  the  said  deputies  were  to  have  any  per- 
sonal communication  with  the  Ministers,  but  were  only  to 
negotiate  with  them  through  the  above-mentioned  agent. 

Secondly,  That  they  must  never  be  required  to  propose  or 
support  any  motion  contrary  to  the  Constitution. 

Thirdly,  That  as  often  as  the  King  and  Council  wished 
for  their  support  for  any  particular  measure,  the  said  deputies 
must  be  informed  twenty-hours  beforehand  by  the  agent, 
through  whom  they  would  instruct  the  Ministers  with  their 
objections,  if  they  had  any,  and  receive  their  answers. 

Fourthly,  That  the  means  to  be  used  for  influencing  the 
Assembly  must  be  left  entirely  to  them;  that  their  demand 
as  to  this  article  admitted  of  no  restriction. 

The  fund  from  which  this  expense  was  to  be  drawn,  was. 
First,  The  sum  of  1,500,000  livres,  belonging  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  Foreign  Affairs,  for  secret  expenses,  of  which  the 
Minister  for  that  department  was  not  obliged  to  give  an  ac- 
count to  anybody  but  to  the  King. 

Secondly,  From  the  free  fund  which  certain  Ministers  had 
at  their  disposal. 

And,  thirdly,  From  the  civil  list. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  327 

The  conference  broke  up  at  ten  o'clock  at  night.  The  Min- 
isters agreed,  at  parting,  on  the  necessity  of  keeping  this  affair 
profoundly  secret.  Indeed  the  very  nature  of  the  case  im- 
plied as  much.  Unfortunately,  M.  de  Narbonne,  just  as  he 
went  from  this  meeting,  met  with  Mathieu  de  Montmorenci, 
and  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  who  waited  for  him,  as  he 
entered  the  Ministry  of  War  and  informed  them  of  what  had 
passed.  At  half  past  eleven  that  same  night,  the  news  had 
spread  in  the  Assembly,  which  was  still  sitting.  It  was  loudly 
complained  of ;  the  members  concerned  were  enraged ;  and  thus 
the  affair  completely  failed. 

The  Ministers  were  in  the  utmost  surprise  and  consternation 
next  day,  on  hearing  this  account.  They  were  eager  to  have 
an  explanation  with  M.  de  Narbonne,  but  he  took  care  to 
avoid  it  that  day,  by  not  coming  to  the  Council  till  after  it 
was  begun,  and  hurrying  out  the  instant  it  was  over.  How- 
ever, he  came  to  the  committee  of  Ministers  next  day,  and 
upon  being  reproached  for  having  divulged  what  had  passed 
at  the  conference,  he  at  first  said  that  he  did  not  remember 
having  mentioned  it :  but  when  Mathieu  de  Montmorenci  and 
the  other  member  of  the  Assembly  were  named  to  him,  "  Ma- 
thieu de  Montmorenci,"  said  he,  "  is  my  friend ;  and  I  am 
certain  that  he  would  not  speak  of  it  to  any  body.  With 
regard  to  the  member  of  the  Assembly,  he  is  of  our  party,  and 
consequently  equally  interested  with  us  in  keeping  the  secret." 

"It  is  of  very  little  consequence,"  answered  the  Garde  des 
Sceaux,  "  which  of  them  divulged  it :  but  what  cannot  be  de- 
nied is,  that  we  all  solemnly  promised  to  mention  it  to  no- 
body." 

"That  is  true,"  returned  M.  de  Xarbonne;  "and  I  was 
wrong.  But  in  short,  gentlemen,  I  have  long  perceived  that 
we  cannot  act  togetlier;  and  I  will  even  own  to  you,  that  if 
I  knew  of  five  persons  proper  to  be  proposed  to  the  King  in 


328  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OP 

your  places,  I  should  immediately  do  it,  and  remain  myself; 
because  I  think  it  would  be  of  essential  benefit  to  his  Majesty's 
service  that  I  continued  in  administration.  But  as  I  cannot 
make  this  change,  I  am  determined  to  resign." 

"Your  resignation,  or  ours,  is  not  the  affair  in  question," 
said  the  Garde  des  Sceaux.  "  We  are  perhaps  as  little  at- 
tached to  our  places  as  you  can  be:  but  we  are  sensible,  that, 
in  the  present  circumstances,the  least  change  in  the  Council 
might  be  fatal  to  the  King.  We  therefore  wish  to  continue 
to  act  with  you;  and  nothing  will  be  easier,  if  you  will  fairly 
come  to  an  understanding  with  us,  and  then  adhere,  without 
deviation,  to  what  we  have  once  agreed  upon." 

"No,"  replied  M.  de  Narbonne,  "that  is  impossible;  be- 
cause there  are  some  members  in  the  Council  with  whom  I  can 
never  agree ;  for  instance,  M.  de  Bertrand." 

"  Me,  sir !  "  cried  I,  greatly  astonished.  "  And  upon  what 
account?  What  has  happened  to  alter  your  opinion,  since  you 
made  me  so  many  protestations  of  esteem?  Is  it  my  fault 
that  you  have  been  guilty  of  an  indiscretion,  which  has  been 
attended  with  very  bad  consequences  ?  " 

"  That  is  beside  the  question,"  said  he.  "  But  I  see  very 
well  that  we  do  not  go  upon  the  same  plan.  You  refused 
me  a  frigate." 

"  I  refuse  you  a  frigate !  When  did  you  ask  for  one  ?  " 
answered  I. 

"  Don't  you  remember,"  replied  he,  "  what  you  declared  in 
the  Council,  when  I  mentioned  the  possibility  of  our  having 
occasion  for  one,  when  we  had  under  consideration  the  affair 
of  M.  de  la  Jaille,  at  Brest?  " 

"Was  I  to  consider,"  said  I,  "an  accidental  observation, 
made  by  you  at  the  time  of  that  insurrection,  as  the  official 
demand  of  a  frigate?  You  appeared  to  have  no  otlior  inten- 
tion, in  the  question  you  then  put  to  me,  than  to  know  if  I 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  329 

would  arm  a  frigate,  to  cruise  along  our  coast,  in  the  case  of 
our  apprehending  hostile  intentions  in  any  of  the  maritime 
powers ;  and  I  answered  that  I  did  not  then  know  an  officer  to 
whom  I  would  give  such  a  command.  If  you  had  directly 
asked  a  frigate  for  yourself,  I  should  have  acquainted  the 
King,  and  have  done  as  he  should  have  ordered." 

This  conversation  was  followed  by  some  observations  from 
the  Garde  des  Sceaux,  upon  the  necessity  of  maintaining,  at 
least,  the  appearance  of  unanimity  in  the  Council:  but  the 
committee  broke  up,  without  M.  de  Xarbonne  having  shown 
any  disposition  to  reconciliation,  or  to  act  in  a  friendly  man- 
ner with  the  other  Ministers;  and  the  public  were  soon  in- 
formed of  the  divisions  in  the  Council,  which  encouraged  the 
malcontents  to  attack  us;  and  no  time  was  lost.  The  Garde 
des  Sceaux  was  denounced  in  the  Assembly.  Another  denun- 
ciation was  announced  against  M.  de  Lessart;  and  the  memo- 
rial of  complaint  against  me,  which  appeared  to  have  been 
forgotten,  being  again  revived,  was  given  to  the  King. 


PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 


CHAPTEE  XVIIL 

Generals  Rochambeau,  la  Fayette,  and  Liickner  arrive  at  Paris. — 
Their  conversation  with  the  King. —  They  are  introduced  into 
the  Council. —  M.  de  Narbonne  absents  himself  from  the  minis- 
terial committees. —  M.  de  la  Fayette  comes  to  the  Committee. — 
Speaks  of  the  ill  consequences  which  must  attend  the  misunder- 
standing among  the  Ministers. —  He  proposes  that  I  should  re- 
tire from  the  administration. —  My  letter  to  M.  de  Narbonne 
respecting  an  article  in  Brissot's  Journal. —  A  letter  from  each 
of  the  three  Generals  to  M.  de  Narbonne. 

M.  DE  Narbonne  had  summoned  the  three  Generals  Eo- 
chambeau/  Liickner,^  and  la  Fayette  to  Paris,  upon  pretence 
of  making  them  give  an  account  of  the  state  of  the  armies, 
and  of  the  plan  of  operations.  They  were  introduced  by  M. 
de  Narbonne  into  the  Council,  on  Friday  the  2d  of  March, 

1  Jean  Baptiste  Donatien  de  Vimeu,  Count  de  Rochambeau,  was  at 
this  period  60  years  of  age.  After  serving  with  credit  during  the 
Seven  Years  War,  he  was  sent  with  the  rank  of  Lieutenant- 
General  at  the  head  of  six  thousand  men  to  America,  where  he  was 
instrumental  in  bringing  about  Cornwallis'  capitulation  at  York- 
town,  October  1781. 

In  1791  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the 
North  and  on  the  21st  December  was,  with  Liickner,  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  Marshal  of  France.  In  1792  he  advised  that  the  French 
Army  should  remain  on  the  defensive,  but  his  opinion  was  over- 
ruled by  Dumouriez,  who  was  in  favour  of  immediate  offensive 
operations.  Rochambeau,  offended  at  the  rejection  of  his  counsel, 
retired  on  the  15th  June  1793,  and  was  shortly  afterwards  arrested 
and  imprisoned  in  the  Conciergerie,  whence  he  emerged  after  the 
fall  of  Robespierre.  In  1803  he  was  granted  a  Marshal's  pension 
by  Napoleon.  He  died  four  years  later,  10th  May  1807,  at  the  age 
of  83. 

2  Nicolas,  Count  Liickner^  won  distinction  as  a  cavalry  officer 
during  the  Seven  Years'  War,  and  after  the  peace  of  Paris,  1793  was 
offered   a    commission   with   the   rank    of   Lieutenant-General    in   the 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  331 

in  spite  of  the  repugnance  which  the  King  had  to  so  unusual 
a  measure.  Before  the  Council  opened,  his  Majesty  asked 
them  several  questions  upon  the  state  of  the  armies.  M.  de 
Eochambeau,  who  was  tirst  interrogated,  answered,  "  that  his 
army  was  in  a  very  bad  condition  with  respect  both  to  cloth- 
ing and  arms ;  and  as  for  discipline,  it  was  almost  entirely  over- 
thrown, and  out  of  his  power,  in  the  present  circumstances,  to 
re-establish  it;  of  course,  that  with  such  troops,  all  military 
operations  must  be  of  a  defensive  nature  only." 

General  Liickner,  who  had  probably  drank  a  little  freely  at 
dinner,  saw  things  in  a  much  pleasanter  point  of  view  than 
his  colleague. 

"  I  can  tell  your  Majesty,"  said  the  General,  addressing  the 
King  in  his  German  Prench,  "  that  something  of  the  same 
nature  may  not  be  said  of  my  army,  which  are  also  in  want 
of  certain  little  articles  respecting  arms  and  clothing;  and 
the  discipline,  to  be  sure,  is  not  very  strict;  but  that  is  of 
little  consequence,  for,  when  I  command,  the  troops  always 
display  ardour,  they  follow  me  always  as  I  wish ;  but  I  am 

French  Army,  then  undergoing  reorganization  on  Prussian  lines. 
Liickner  accepted  the  Revolution  with  fervour.  He  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  Marshal  of  France  on  the  28th  December  1791,  and 
in  1792  succeeded  Rochambeau  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army 
of  the  North.  After  a  somewhat  precipitate  retreat  in  June  1792, 
lie  succeeded  in  defeating  the  Austrians  at  Longwy  on  the  19th 
August.  Notwithstanding  this  victory,  his  age  and  his  ignorance  of 
French  made  him  slower,  more  cautious  and  less  popular  than  the 
young  French  generals  who  were  coming  to  the  front.  He  was 
replaced  by  Kellermann  and  summoned  before  the  Convention,  who 
ordered  him  to  remain  in  Paris.  Shortly  aftersvards  he  retired,  his 
pay  was  withdrawn,  and  in  consequence  of  his  remonstrance  ho  was 
imprisoned.  On  the  3rd  January  1794,  he  was  condemned  by  the 
Revolutionary  Tribunal  as  being  the  author  or  accomplice  in  a 
conspiracy  tetween  Capet,  his  INIinisters,  several  prenerals  and  the 
enemy,  to  facilitate  the  entry  of  the  troops  of  the  coalition  upon 
French  territory.  He  was  guillotined  on  the  same  day,  at  the  age 
of  72. 


332  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

for  offensive  war;  the  French  troops  excel  in  the  attack;  they 
are  not  fit  for  the  defensive.  Offensive  war,  please  your  Maj- 
esty, offensive  war  forever." 

M.  de  la  Fayette  being  interrogated  in  his  turn,  answered  in 
a  few  words;  he  contradicted  neither  of  his  colleagues;  and, 
although  their  opinions  were  quite  opposite,  he  contrived  to  ac- 
commodate what  he  said  to  both :  after  which,  the  King  imag- 
ining that  they  would  immediately  retire,  seemed  pleased  with 
the  thought,  that  the  impropriety  of  their  sitting  in  the  Coun- 
cil was  thus  avoided;  but  when  he  bowed,  in  expectation  of 
their  withdrawing,  they  requested  his  permission  to  read  a 
memorial,  which  appearing  to  be  too  long  to  be  heard  stand- 
ing, his  Majesty  seated  himself,  and  desired  the  Generals  to  do 
the  same. 

The  memorial  was  of  little  or  no  consequence ;  and,  when  it 
was  finished,  he  told  the  Generals,  that  he  would  consider  upon 
it,  and  they  retired. 

Next  day  M.  de  Narbonne  did  not  appear  in  the  committee 
of  Ministers;  but  his  friend  M.  de  la  Fayette  came  in  his 
place,  and  spoke  much  of  the  bad  effect  which  the  dissensions 
in  the  Ministry  had  on  the  public  mind,  and  of  the  fatal  conse- 
quences they  might  produce  to  the  King,  &c.,  &c. 

"  You  preach  repentance,"  answered  one  of  the  Ministers ; 
"  but  is  your  friend  M.  de  Xarbonne  of  the  same  opinion  ?  " 

"  Yes,  undoubtedly  he  is." 

"  Why  then  does  not  he  join  his  colleagues,  after  the  desire 
which  they  showed  to  be  reconciled  to  him  ?  " 

"  This  was  what  I  wished,"  returned  M,  de  la  Fayette;  "but 
after  what  he  informed  me  concerning  what  passed  between  him 
and  M.  Bertrand,  at  the  last  committee,  it  seems  almost  im- 
possible that  one  or  other  should  not  quit  the  Ministry;  and 
M.  Bertrand  must  pardon  me,  if  truth  forces  me  to  say,  that 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  333 

however  estimable  his  conduct  may  be,  his  retreat,  in  the  pres- 
ent circumstances,  would  be  as  useful  to  the  King,  as  that  of 
M.  de  Narbonne  would  be  fatal." 

"  Were  I  of  that  opinion,"  said  I,  "  I  should  most  certainly 
resign  without  hesitation;  but  I  can  with  difficulty  believe, 
that  it  would  be  advantageous  to  the  King  to  be  abandoned  by 
one  of  his  Ministers,  merely  because  some  base  calumniators 
have  made  complaints  against  him  that  are  absurd,  and  with- 
out the  smallest  foundation.  With  regard  to  the  attack  which 
M.  de  Narbonne  directed  against  me,  in  order  to  extricate  him- 
self, surely  that  does  not  entitle  him  to  require  my  retreat; 
and,  although  I  have  a  better  right  to  insist  on  his,  so  far  am 
I  from  making  any  such  request,  that  I  now  join  my  colleagues 
in  inviting  him  to  a  reconciliation:  this  ought  to  satisfy  him. 
You  may  assure  him  at  the  same  time,  sir,"  added  I,  "  that 
notwithstanding  his  popularity,  the  term  of  my  Ministry  shall 
never  depend  upon  his  caprice.  I  have  long  since  acquainted 
his  Majesty  with  the  particular  time  when  I  thought  it  would 
be  necessary  for  me  to  quit  his  service  —  the  period  is  at  no 
great  distance;  but  most  assuredly  I  shall  not  hasten  it  a 
moment  to  please  M.  de  Narbonne." 

The  other  Ministers  approved  of  what  I  had  said,  and  sup- 
ported me  in  it;  and  M.  de  la  Fayette  retired,  much  dissatis- 
fied at  the  bad  success  of  his  embassy. 

The  next  day,  being  the  4th  of  March,  1792,  the  following 
article  appeared  in  Brissot's  Journal : 

"The  reports  which  had  been  for  some  time  circulating,  of 
dissensions  in  the  cabinet  council,  are  well  founded  —  a  mis- 
understanding subsists  betwixt  the  Minister  of  War  and  tbe 
Minister  of  Marine:  the  first,  whose  attachment  to  the  Con- 
stitution is  well  known,  employs  every  means  of  executing 
its  laws,  so  as  to  render  it  successful;  while  the  second  on- 


33i  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

deavours  to  execute  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  overturn  it." 

As  soon  as  I  saw  this  paragraph,  I  -wrote  the  following  letter 
to  M.  de  Narbonne : 

"Sir, 

"  I  have  just  read  a  paragraph  in  the  Patriote  Frangais, 
which  I  make  no  doubt  has  shocked  you  as  much  as  it  has  done 
me.  Being  convinced  you  had  no  share  in  it,  I  presume  you 
are  sensible  of  the  propriety  of  immediately  requiring  that  the 
paragraph  may  be  retracted;  which  it  will  be  easy  for  you  to 
obtain." 

M.  de  Narhonne's  Answer. 
"  Sir, 

"  I  felt  as  much  uneasiness  as  you  could  on  reading  the 
paragraph  you  mention;  in  the  inserting  of  which  I  certainly 
had  no  hand;  but,  as  I  am  convinced,  that  the  assertions  it 
contains  are  true,  I  can  neither  contradict  them,  nor  require 
that  they  should  be  retracted. 

"  I  greatly  esteem  your  talents  and  virtues ;  at  the  same 
time,  I  have  had  occasion  to  observe,  that  our  ideas  are  not 
the  same  respecting  the  Constitution;  and  it  appears  to  me, 
that  our  different  method  of  executing  its  laws,  in  such  critical 
circumstances,  must  be  as  hurtful  to  public  affairs  as  to  the 
King's  interest." 

Notwithstanding  this  extraordinary  answer,  I  wished  to  try 
every  means,  of  being  reconciled  with  M.  de  Xarbonne.  His 
dismissal  would  have  been  the  consequence  of  an  open  rupture ; 
and,  as  he  was  then  the  most  popular  Minister,  this  would  have 
been  hurtful  to  the  King.  The  same  day,  therefore,  on  which 
I  received  this  letter,  finding  myself  seated  next  him  at  the 
Council,  I  wrote  the  subsequent  note,  and  showed  it  to  M.  de 
Narbonne. 

"  If  M.  de  Xarbonnc  has,  as  I  wish,  reflected  more  maturely 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  335 

upon  the  letter  I  sent  him  this  morning,  it  depends  upon 
himself  to  re-establish  perfect  unanimity  in  the  Council:  he 
has  only  to  complain  of  the  article  in  the  Patriote  Frangals; 
to  express  before  the  Council  his  surprise  and  uneasiness  on 
account  of  its  insertion,  and  to  declare  that  he  will  imme- 
diately write  to  the  editor  to  desire  it  may  be  retracted.  I 
have  not  communicated  the  subject  of  this  note  to  any  of  my 
colleagues;  and  I  give  my  word  of  honour  that  I  never  will, 
in  the  hopes  that  the  step  which  I  recommend,  may  be  re- 
garded by  them  as  the  spontaneous  effects  of  M.  de  Narbonne's 
candour,  which  will  certainly  reconcile  them  all  to  him." 

M.  de  iS^arbonne,  after  reading  this  note,  wrote  the  follow- 
ing answer  under  it : 

"  I  persist  in  the  same  opinion,  which  I  sent  M.  Bertrand 
this  morning.  He  is  at  liberty  to  lay  open  immediately,  be- 
fore the  King,  all  the  circumstances  regarding  Brissot's  para- 
graph.    I  am  ready  to  explain  myself  upon  that  article." 

I  wrote  back  upon  the  same  paper : 

"  Don't  you  think  it  would  be  more  expedient  to  discuss  this 
affair  in  the  conunittee,  after  the  Council,  before  it  is  men- 
tioned to  the  King  ?  " 

M.  de  Narbonne  answered,  by  the  single  word,  "  willingly." 

After  the  Council,  we  went  to  the  apartment  in  the  palace 
appropriated  for  the  committee.  I  gave  an  account  of  my 
letter,  and  M.  de  Narbonne's  answer,  concerning  the  para- 
graph inserted  in  Brissot's  Journal,  witli  which  all  the  Min- 
isters had  been  very  much  offended.  Then  addressing  myself 
to  M.  de  Narbonne,  I  said, 

"  I  now  request,  sir,  that  you  will  frankly  explain,  before 
our  colleagues,  what  you  mean  by  the  difference  of  opinion 
which,  you  say,  subsists  betwixt  us  concerning  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  of  our  different  mode  of  exercising  it.  I  ought  to, 
and  I  am  convinced  tliat  T  do,  understand  the  Constitution 


336  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

better  than  you  do ;  because  my  Department  not  being  so  much 
overcharged  as  yours,  I  have  had  more  leisure  to  study  it;  I 
never  take  a  step  without  consulting  it;  and  I  am  very  sure 
that  it  is  not  in  your  power  to  give  a  single  instance  wherein 
I  have  deviated  from  what  the  Constitution  prescribes." 

"  I  contest  nothing  of  all  that/'  replied  M.  de  Xarbonne ; 
"but  you  ought,  with  the  same  frankness  on  your  part,  to 
acknowledge  that  you  do  not  like  the  Constitution;  that  you 
do  not  approve  of  it." 

"  'No,  sir,"  resumed  I,  "  that  is  what  I  will  not  acknowledge ; 
I  will  only  declare  that  I  do  not  allow  myself  to  decide  on  the 
merits  or  demerits  of  the  Constitution.  I  shall  defer  passing 
my  judgment  until  that  of  the  nation  is  manifested,  after 
having  experienced  the  effects  which  will  result  from  its  execu- 
tion. Neither  you  nor  I  have  sworn  to  love  it;  at  all  events, 
we  have  only  taken  an  oath  to  execute  it  faithfully,  and  to 
enforce  it  by  all  the  means  in  our  power:  let  us  content  our- 
selves with  being  faithful  to  our  oath." 

"  Yes,"  replied  he ;  "  but  while  I  use  every  means  of  mak- 
ing the  Constitution  succeed,  you  endeavor  to  have  it  exe- 
cuted, in  such  a  manner,  as  may  prove  to  the  nation  that  it 
never  can  go  on." 

"  That  is  to  say,"  returned  I,  "  you  suppose  this  to  be  my 
intention;  for  you  certainly  have  not  the  smallest  proof  of  it; 
and  I  never  made  such  a  declaration  to  you,  nor  to  anybody 
else.  Your  supposition  would  be  more  plausible  if  I  adhered 
with  less  strictness  to  the  Constitution;  but  it  is  strange  to 
conclude,  from  my  scrupulous  observance  of  it,  that  my  design 
is  to  show  the  public  that  it  cannot  be  executed:  thus,  sir,  it 
is  impossible  for  me  to  escape  your  censure,  let  me  act  as  I 
will.  May  I  ask  by  what  right  you  assert  that  I  have  a  design 
so  contradictory  to  my  conduct;  and  can  you  seriously  found 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  337 

your  quarrel  with  me  on  such  vague  and  inconsistent  sup- 
positions ?  " 

"  I  don't  mean  to  quarrel  with  you/'  he  answered ;  "  but 
you  desired  me  to  explain  myself  openly:  then  I  must  plainly 
tell  you,  that  I  form  my  opinion  in  consequence  of  what  I 
see:  your  Department  does  not  act/' 

"  My  Department  does  not  act !  what  do  you  know,  sir,  upon 
the  subject  ?  what  do  you  find  deficient  ?  " 

"  This,  sir ;  that  you  have  not  commenced  the  new  organ- 
ization of  the  Navy:  you  have  not  an  officer:  not  a  captain 
of  a  frigate,  while  the  land  force  is  complete." 

"  It  is  true,  sir,  that  the  new  organization  of  the  !N'avy  is 
not  far  advanced;  but  it  certainly  is  not  my  fault,  as  the 
Assembly  has  not  yet  passed  one  of  the  decrees  necessary  to 
regulate  this  organization,  although  I  have  repeatedly  de- 
manded them;  and  as  I  have  no  right  to  issue  such  decrees, 
nor  the  power  of  executing  them  before  they  exist,  I  deserve 
no  blame  on  that  head:  indeed,  I  have  never  been  blamed  on 
that  account  by  the  Assembly,  notwithstanding  the  prevailing 
prejudice  against  me.  If  I  had  been  as  fortunate  as  you 
were,"  continued  I,  "  in  having  all  my  decrees  immediately 
passed,  perhaps  I  should  have  been  as  far  advanced;  partic- 
ularly if  I  had  supplied  the  place  of  officers  by  pilots  and 
sailors,  as  you  supplied  the  officers  who  were  missing  by  ser- 
geants and  common  soldiers;  perhaps  I  might  have  also  had< 
my  Liickner  to  boast  of;  for  the  famous  corsaire  Paul  Jones 
presented  himself  twice  at  my  levee  to  demand  the  rank  of 
Admiral." 

"Well,  well,"  said  M.  de  Xarbonne,  "you  see  what  a  foot- 
ing you  are  on  with  the  Assembly:  you  can  obtain  nothing, 
while  nothing  I  ask  is  refused  me.     It  is  true,  that  I  fre- 
quently attend  the  Assembly,  and  go  almost  every  day  to  the 
Vol.  1—22 


SSB  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

committees.  If  you  had  pursued  the  same  plan,  you  would 
undoubtedly  have  had  the  same  success;  but  you  never  would 
have  any  communication  with  the  committees :  this  singularity 
gave  offence;  and  I  am  not  surprised  that  it  has  raised  you 
many  enemies  in  the  Assembly." 

"I  am  not  surprised  at  it  neither,"  said  I;  "but  notwith- 
standing the  success  which  you  owe  to  your  communication 
with  the  committees,  I  persist  in  the  opinion,  that  these  com- 
munications are  much  more  dangerous  than  useful.  But,  in 
short,  sir,  this  is  foreign  to  the  question;  for  certainly  it  is 
not  for  my  persisting  in  communicating  with  the  Assembly 
only,  and  refusing  to  attend  the  committees,  that  you  suppose 
me  to  have  an  intention  of  subverting  that  very  Constitution 
which  orders  us  to  communicate  directly  with  the  Assembly, 
and  says  nothing  of  committees." 

"In  short,  it  is  to  no  purpose,"  resumed  he,  "to  prolong 
this  dispute,  as  we  may  go  on  till  to-morrow  without  coming 
to  any  agreement.  What  has  passed,  only  proves  that  our 
principles  are  too  opposite  ever  to  be  reconciled;  and  this  con- 
sideration would  have  determined  me  to  retire  from  admin- 
istration, as  I  informed  you  at  the  house  of  the  Garde  des 
Sceaux,  if  I  had  not  been  restrained  by  the  entreaties  of  the 
Generals." 

"  You  will  act  as  you  please,  sir,"  replied  I. 

All  the  Ministers  were  struck  with  the  futility  of  M.  de 
Narbonne's  objections,  and  the  force  of  my  answers.  They 
expostulated  with  M.  de  Narbonne,  and  endeavoured  to  bring 
about  a  reconciliation;  but  all  in  vain.  He  stood  out  with 
the  obstinacy  of  a  person  who  had  a  fixed  plan,  from  which 
he  was  determined  not  to  recede.  This  conduct  of  M.  de  Xar- 
bonne,  at  first  appeared  inconsistent  with  the  intention  he 
had  announced,  of  giving  in  his  resignation,  but  it  became  a 
little  more  intelligible  three  days  after  by  the  extraordinary 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  339 

measure  he  adopted  of  publishing  in  the  newspapers  three  let- 
ters he  had  received  from  the  Generals  Eochambeau,  Liickner, 
and  La  Fayette,  with  his  answers. 

Those  letters  had  been  written  at  the  request  of  M.  de  Nar- 
bonne  himself;  they  were  all  three  to  the  same  effect,  and 
very  nearly  in  the  same  words.     The  substance  was  as  follows : 

"  That  the  report  of  his  retreat  gave  them  the  greatest 
uneasiness:  that  it  was  his  duty  to  remain  in  administration, 
as  his  talents,  activity,  and  resources  were  so  useful  to  his 
country.  That  their  confidence  in  him,  and  the  certitude  of 
obtaining,  through  his  diligence,  all  necessary  succour,  had 
been  their  only  motive  for  retaining  the  command  of  the 
armies;  but  that,  if  he  persisted  in  his  determination  to 
retire,  they  must  give  up  a  situation,  the  duties  of  which  they 
would  no  longer  have  the  power  properly  to  discharge." 

M.  de  Narbonne's  answer  to  each  was  conceived  thus: 

"  It  is  true,  my  dear  general,  that  the  difference  of  opinion 
which  subsists  betwixt  M.  Bertrand  and  me,  respecting  the 
Constitution,  had  determined  me  to  give  in  my  resignation; 
but  the  value  you  attach  to  my  services,  and  your  earnest 
desire  for  my  continuance  in  administration,  make  me  con- 
sider it  as  a  duty  to  remain  as  long  as  the  King  honours  me 
with  his  confidence." 

The  publication  of  these  letters,  opened  the  eyes  of  the  three 
Generals,  who  had  probably  written  them  unknown  to  each 
other;  and  each  in  the  hope,  that  his  personal  approbation 
would  have  sufficient  weight  with  the  King,  to  fix  M.  de  Nar- 
bonne  in  his  office.  They  now  began  to  suspect  tliat  he  had 
summoned  them  to  Paris,  and  loaded  tliem  with  civilities, 
merely  with  a  view  to  induce  tliom  to  take  tliis  step;  which 
was  the  more  remarkable,  as  at  tliut  time  attempts  were  made 


340  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

to  turn  him  into  ridicule  by  numerous  pamphlets  and  carica- 
tures, in  which  he  was  distinguished  by  the  nickname  of 
Ministre  Linote.     (The  Linnet  Minister.) 

M.  de  Xarbonne  had  flattered  himself,  that  the  publication 
of  this  correspondence  would  confirm  his  credit  in  the  As- 
sembly, and  put  the  King  under  the  necessity  of  retaining 
him  in  the  administration,  lest  his  retiring  should  occasion 
that  of  all  the  three  Generals;  but  the  event  did  not  answer 
his  expectation;  for  those  gentlemen  were  so  much  offended 
at  the  publication  of  their  letters,  that  they  complained  of  it 
to  his  Majesty;  and  retracted  their  declaration  of  intending 
to  retire  upon  his  resignation. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTEK  XIX. 

The  Ministers  assemble  to  examine  the  conduct  of  M.  de  Narbonne. 

—  They  unanimously  agree  never  more  to  sit  in  the  Council  with 
him. —  My  resignation. —  Letter  from  M.  de  Lessart  to  the  King. 

—  My  conversation  with  his  Majesty. —  Dismission  of  M.  de 
Narbonne. —  Violent  discontents  in  the  Assembly. —  Decree 
against  M.  de  Lessart. —  Death  of  the  Emperor. —  The  Chevalier 
de  Grave  appointed  Minister  of  War. 

The  conduct  of  M.  de  Narbonne  raised  the  indignation  of 
all  the  Ministers;  and  the  day  on  which  his  correspondence 
with  the  three  Generals  was  made  public,  they  met  in  com- 
mittee to  deliberate  on  the  part  to  be  taken  respecting  him. 
It  was  unanimously  decided,  in  the  first  place,  that  none  of 
the  Ministers  should  any  longer  do  business  with  M.  de  Nar- 
bonne, and  therefore  it  became  necessary  that  the  King  should 
immediately  decide  betwixt  him  and  us.  But  as  the  dismis- 
sion of  M.  de  Narbonne,  in  consequence  of  a  quarrel,  which 
seemed  to  have  arisen  from  his  zeal  for  the  Constitution, 
might  set  the  King  and  Council  in  an  unfavourable  light  in 
the  eyes  of  the  public,  we  considered  every  possible  means  of 
obviating  this  inconvenience,  and  my  resignation  was  consid- 
ered as  the  most  eligible.  I  opposed  this  decision,  for  two 
reasons.  The  first  was,  that  I  thought  it  disgraceful  for  me 
to  retire,  before  his  Majesty  had  given  any  answer  to  the 
Assembly  respecting  the  memorial  addressed  to  him  against 
m.e,  because  my  retreat  might  be  construed  into  a  tacit  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  justice  of  the  imputations  it  contained. 
In  the  second  place,  I  earnestly  wished  to  continue  in  admin- 
istration till  the  loth  of  March,  because  that  day  was  fixed 


342  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

upon  for  the  review  of  the  new  body  of  naval  oflBcers,  or  rather 
for  the  disorganization  of  the  former  corps,  and  therefore  I 
had  fixed  upon  it  as  the  termination  of  my  administration; 
and  I  urged  that  the  King  could  not  in  Justice,  nor  the  Council 
in  honour,  hasten  it  a  day  sooner,  as  it  would  be  giving  M.  de 
iSTarbonne  the  satisfaction  of  including  me  in  his  fall,  and 
expose  me  to  a  mortification  I  had  not  merited. 

These  considerations  made  no  impression  on  M.  Cahier  de 
Gerville.  He  had  first  proposed  my  resignation,  and  he  had 
obstinately  insisted  upon  it;  and  declared  with  great  violence, 
that  he  would  give  in  his  the  very  next  day  if  I  did  not  give 
in  mine.  This  menace  frightened  the  Garde  des  Sceaux, 
who  had,  till  then,  warmly  espoused  my  cause;  and  I  also  be- 
came sensible,  that  at  an  instant  so  critical,  the  popularity  of 
M.  Cahier  de  Gerville  would  render  his  retreat  more  preju- 
dicial to  the  King  than  mine.  I  therefore  no  longer  insisted, 
but  consented  to  give  in  my  resignation,  provided  it  was  not 
made  public  till  after  the  King  sent  an  answer  to  the  memorial 
which  the  Assembly  had  drawn  up  against  me;  which  could 
be  done  early  next  morning,  if  the  Garde  des  Sceaux,  when 
he  waited  upon  his  Majesty  with  the  request  of  the  committee, 
would  beg  of  him  to  let  me  have  the  memorial  immediately, 
in  order  that  I  might  draw  up  the  sketch  of  an  answer  before 
the  opening  of  the  Assembly. 

This  condescendence  obviated  all  difficulties,  and  gave  such 
satisfaction  to  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville,  that  he  suggested  to 
propose  to  the  King  that  I  should  continue  in  office  after  giv- 
ing in  my  resignation,  until  my  successor  was  appointed.  By 
this  means  all  my  views  were  answered.  I  was  certain  that 
the  King  would  make  no  objection.  I  accordingly  wrote  my 
resignation,  while  my  colleagues  were  employed  in  drawing 
up  the  answer  which  the  King  was  to  make  me;  and  they 
endeavoured  to  render  it  as  honourable  for  me  as  possible.     It 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  343 

was  agreed  upon  that  the  Garde  des  Sceaux  should  next  morn- 
ing present  my  resignation,  and  the  form  of  the  answer,  as 
drawn  up  by  the  Ministers  for  his  Majesty.  It  was  agreed  also 
that  M.  de  Lessart  should  that  evening,  after  the  committee, 
write  to  him  an  account  of  what  had  passed.  The  following  is 
a  copy  of  this  interesting  letter,  which  renders  it  superfluous 
for  me  to  give  a  circumstantial  detail  of  what  passed  at  the 
committee,  especially  as  the  testimony  of  a  third  person  will 
have  more  weight  than  my  own. 

Letter  from  M.  de  Lessart. 

"  I  went  this  evening,  betwixt  ten  and  eleven  o'clock,  to 
the  house  of  the  Minister  of  Justice,  which  I  informed  your 
Majesty  was  my  intention,  and  there  I  not  only  found  M. 
Bertrand  and  M.  Tarbe,  but  also  M.  Cahier;  and  soon  after 
M.  de  La  Fayette  arrived,  whom  the  Garde  des  Sceaux  had 
already  seen  in  the  course  of  the  day. 

"  M.  de  La  Fayette  told  us  that  he  had  been  very  desirous 
of  bringing  about  a  reconciliation  amongst  the  Ministers ;  that 
this  had  at  all  times  appeared  difficult  to  him,  upon  account 
of  the  difference  subsisting  betwixt  M.  de  Xarbonne  and  M. 
Bertrand;  but  that  now  things  had  come  to  that  point,  that 
he  could  no  longer  interfere:  he  gave  as  his  reason  the  pub- 
lication of  the  three  letters  from  the  Generals,  and,  above 
all,  the  answer  which  M.  de  Narbonne  had  given  to  him. 
He  declared  that  he  had  never  consented  to  the  publication, 
nor  had  he  any  idea  of  such  a  thing  till  he  saw  the  letters 
in  the  newspapers.  After  this  explanation,  which  was  cold 
and  laconic,  he  retired.  The  moment  he  went  out,  M.  Cahier 
vented  his  indignation  at  the  conduct  of  M.  de  N^arbonne, 
in  the  strongest  expressions;  and  he  ended  by  saying  that 
he  must  never  more  set  his  foot  in  the  Council.  But  at  the 
same  time  he  added,  that  the  dismission  of  M.  de  Xarbonne 


344  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

might  produce  very  bad  consequences,  unless  the  voluntary 
resignation  of  M.  Bertrand  followed  soon  after. 

"  M.  Bertrand  said  that  he  could  not,  at  that  moment,  give 
in  his  resignation,  but  that  he  would  do  it  most  willingly 
after  the  15th  of  March;  that  such  had  always  been  his  fixed 
intention. 

"  The  Garde  des  Sceaux  supported  M.  Bertrand,  and  said 
that  it  would  be  beneath  the  King's  dignity,  and  the  credit 
of  the  Ministry,  to  yield  upon  such  an  occasion. 

"  M.  de  Cahier  insisted,  with  force,  upon  M.  Bertrand's 
immediate  resignation.  He  founded  his  opinion  upon  the 
present  disposition  of  the  people,  the  public  interest,  and  that 
of  the  King. 

"He  was  seconded  by  M.  Tarbe  in  such  a  manner,  that 
M.  Bertrand  condescended  so  far  as  to  promise  to  give  in 
his  dismission  as  soon  as  the  King  should  have  answered  the 
memorial  of  the  National  Assembly. 

"M.  Cahier  insisted  on  his  former  opinion  with  great 
vehemence,  declaring,  that  if  M.  Bertrand  did  not  give  in  his 
resignation  immediately  after  the  King  had  demanded  that 
of  M.  de  Narbonne,  he  himself  would  resign  the  very  next 
morning. 

"I  had,  till  then,  taken  little  part  in  the  debate,  being, 
at  bottom,  entirely  of  the  opinion  of  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville, 
which  I  had  hitherto  concealed,  out  of  delicacy  to  M.  Ber- 
trand, whose  situation  was  extremely  cruel :  but  seeing  things 
so  far  advanced,  I  at  last  remarked  to  M.  Bertrand,  that  as 
he  was  resolved  upon  the  sacrifice,  he  ought  to  make  it  in  the 
manner  most  advantageous  for  the  King,  in  the  present  state 
of  public  affairs;  and  that  it  appeared  highly  expedient  that 
he  should  give  in  his  resignation  next  day,  in  order  to  di- 
minish the  effect  which  M.  de  Narbonne's  dismission  might 
produce. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  345 

"M.  le  Garde  des  Sceaux,  who  had  been  greatly  struck 
with  the  decisive  declaration  of  M.  Cahier,  being  sensible  of 
the  importance  of  preventing  his  resignation  on  the  same  day 
with  M.  de  Narbonne,  ranged  himself  on  the  same  side. 

"  M.  Bertrand  consented ;  and  we  drew  up  the  letter  which 
is  proposed  for  your  Majesty  to  send  in  answer  to  his  letter 
of  resignation. 

"This  long  and  important  discussion  passed  without  acri- 
mony, and  in  a  manner  becoming  persons  who  have  senti- 
ments of  mutual  esteem.  Your  Majesty's  interest  and  the 
public  good  were  all  we  had  in  view. 

"  In  the  proposed  answer  from  your  Majesty  to  M.  Ber- 
trand, you  will  require  of  him  to  remain  in  his  Department 
till  a  successor  is  appointed. 

"With  respect  to  M.  de  Narbonne,  we  think  he  ought 
immediately  to  be  replaced ;  and  that  it  is  even  of  consequence 
that  his  successor  take  his  place  in  Council  this  very  evening. 
Upon  mature  consideration,  it  appeared  to  us  that  the  Chev- 
alier de  Grave  is  the  most  proper  person  to  replace  him; 
and  on  the  presumption  that  he  would  be  agreeable  to  your 
Majesty,  the  Garde  des  Sceaux  sounded  him  yesterday;  and 
during  the  committee,  he  went  again  to  his  house  at  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  with  the  same  intention;  but  not 
finding  him  at  home,  left  a  note,  desiring  to  see  him  as 
early  as  possible. 

"  We  also  think  it  very  necessary  that  your  Majesty  should 
immediately  send  for  the  three  Generals,  in  order  to  prevent 
them  from  giving  in  their  resignation,  which  they  will  most 
certainly  be  excited  to  do  by  every  possible  moans.  Your 
Majesty  will  not  fail  in  persuasive  arguments.  On  their  part, 
it  would  certainly  be  a  failure  in  tbeir  duty,  and  even  a 
breach  of  their  oath,  to  resign  at  such  a  conjuncture.  But 
as  this  is  a  point  of  the  utmost  importance,  your  Majesty  will 


346  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

perhaps  think  it  expedient  that  the  Queen  should  be  present 
at  this  interview,  that  every  circumstance  may  concur  to  en- 
sure success. 

"  There  are  also  precautions  to  be  taken  relative  to  the 
National  Guards,  as  it  is  very  possible  that  seditious  people 
may  take  advantage  of  the  present  circumstances  to  excite 
disorder. 

"  It  is  said  that  M.  de  Boissieu  is  not  at  Paris.  By  whom 
is  he  replaced?     Might  he  not  be  sent  for? 

"  Your  Majesty  will  be  informed  of  these  particulars,  in  the 
morning,  by  the  Garde  des  Sceaux.  It  appeared  to  us  proper 
to  give  him  the  preference  upon  this  occasion,  as  being  the 
senior  Minister,  and  in  some  respects  the  chief  of  the  Council. 

"  Your  Majesty  may  then  send  for  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville, 
to  inform  him  that  you  have  adopted  his  opinion;  and  at  the 
same  time  to  request  him  to  continue  in  administration  be- 
yond the  time  he  has  fixed,  which  is  the  15th  of  this  month. 
It  is  to  be  wished  that  his  resignation  could  be  deferred  at 
least  eight  days  beyond  that  period.  It  would  be  well  if  the 
Queen  would  join  her  invitation  to  M.  Cahier  to  that  of  "your 
Majesty,  by  which  means  success  would  be  more  certain. 

"  Your  Majesty  and  the  Queen  ought  to  show  every  mark  of 
favour  and  regard  to  M.  Bertrand,  so  unjustly  sacrificed;  and 
who,  in  yielding  to  the  force  of  circumstances,  gives  the 
strongest  proof  of  attachment  and  duty.  He  is  a  man  of 
merit,  who  must  not  be  looked  upon  as  entirely  lost  to  your 
Majesty's  service. 

"  I  shall  end  by  observing,  that  the  conduct  of  M.  de  ISTar- 
bonne  is  so  seriously  reprehensible,  that  his  dismission  seems 
absolutely  necessary,  unless  your  Majesty  prefers  giving  him 
your  entire  confidence.  But  in  case  you  should  adopt  the 
first  of  these  measures,  no  time  is  to  be  lost.  All  explana- 
tion will  be  superfluous,  and  derogate  from  your  dignity.     It 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  347 

is  even  of  consequence  to  prevent  M.  de  Xarbonne  from  com- 
ing to  the  Council  this  evening,  as  he  will  not  fail  to  bring 
a  very  patriotic  discourse,  which  he  will  propose  that  your 
Majesty  should  address  to  the  National  Assembly;  and,  if  he 
receives  his  dismission  next  day,  he  will  say  that  it  is  upon 
account  of  this  discourse  that  he  has  fallen  into  disgrace. 

"  I  take  the  liberty  to  remind  your  Majesty  of  the  three 
Generals.  It  appears  to  me  that  you  should  see  them:  that 
you  should  receive  them  all  three  together;  and,  if  possible, 
before  any  of  them  have  been  tampered  with.  In  talking  of 
their  letters,  your  Majesty,  without  informing  them  of  your 
intentions,  may  ask  them,  if,  after  swearing  to  be  faithful 
to  the  nation  and  the  King,  they  can  seriously  determine  to 
serve  no  longer  than  M.  de  Xarbonne  remains  in  administra- 
tion. Your  Majesty  may  add,  that  even  supposing  that 
some  alteration  should  be  made  in  the  Ministry,  you  will 
certainly  choose  none  but  men  distinguished  for  patriotism 
and  abilities." 

Signed  de  Lessart. 
"  Friday  lyorning  5\  o'clock." 

On  leaving  the  Committee  (about  three  in  the  morning), 
I  immediately  sent  a  copy  of  my  resignation  to  the  editor  of 
the  Journal  de  Paris,  earnestly  requesting  him  to  insert  it  in 
that  day's  paper,  in  order  that  the  retreat  of  the  Minister,  who 
displeased  the  Assembly,  might  be  made  public  at  the  same 
time  with  the  dismission  of  him  who  had  more  partisans  in  it, 
a  circumstance,  however,  that  did  not  prevent  him  from 
being  sometimes  insulted,  which  never  happened  to  me. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  M.  de  Xarbonne 
was  sometimes  treated  in  that  hall,  I  shall  only  relate  tlie 
words  which  the  deputy  Albitte  addressed  to  hirn  at  the  even- 
ing meeting  a  little  before  his  dismission: 

"  That  great  Minister,"  cried  the  deputy,  "  whom  you  be- 


348  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OP 

hold  there,  who  has  such  vast  talents,  and  whose  numerous 
applauders  besiege  the  Assembly  and  the  Committees,  often 
makes  reports  entirely  devoid  of  truth.  As  for  his  activity, 
so  much  vaunted,  it  is  of  as  little  utility  as  the  activity  of 
one  who  walks  in  his  sleep." 

M.  de  Narbonne  heard  this  rhetorical  flourish  with  a  smile 
of  contempt,  which  was  the  only  reply  he  ever  made  to  those 
indecent  attacks,  for  which  a  less  enduring  Minister  would 
have  obliged  the  Assembly  to  have  done  him  justice. 

I  had  not  seen  the  memorial  which  the  Assembly  had  ad- 
dressed to  the  King  against  me;  but  as  it  could  contain  little 
else  besides  a  repetition  of  the  former  reports  made  by  the 
Marine  Committee,  I  prepared  a  form  of  the  answer  the  King 
was  to  make,  all  but  a  refutation  of  the  new  accusations  which 
the  memorial  might  contain.  I  therefore  addressed  a  letter  to 
his  Majesty,  begging  that  he  would  send  me  the  memorial,  and 
informing  him  that  my  resignation  was  to  be  presented  to  him. 

My  letter  was  as  follows: 

"  I  entreat  your  Majesty  will  send  me  the  memorial  of  ac- 
cusation against  me,  as  it  ought  to  be  answered  as  soon  as 
possible.  The  Ministers,  assembled  last  night  in  Committee, 
deliberated  till  three  in  the  morning  upon  the  letters  which  M. 
de  Xarbonne  caused  to  be  printed  in  every  journal.  His  con- 
duct being  highly  disapproved  of  by  all,  they  intend  to  pro- 
pose that  your  Majesty  should  dismiss  him;  but,  as  the  dan- 
gerous woman  who  governs  him  (Madame  de  Stael)  might 
take  advantage  of  the  present  crisis,  to  excite  an  insurrection, 
on  pretence  that  a  patriotic  Minister  is  dismissed  for  having 
denounced  an  aristocratic  one,  my  unbounded  attachment  to 
your  Majesty,  and  regard  for  your  interest,  have  determined 
me  to  give  in  my  resignation  as  soon  as  M.  de  Narbonne  has  re- 
ceived his   dismission.     But   I   shall   ever   remain   inviolably 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  349 

devoted  to  your  Majesty's  service ;  and  my  chief  ambition  will 
ever  be,  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  prove  my  respectful  at- 
tachment." 

The  King  received  this  letter  an  hour  before  the  Garde  des 
Sceaux  went  to  him  from  the  Committee. 

At  ten  o'clock  I  received  two  letters  from  his  Majesty;  one 
was  that  which  the  Committee  had  drawn  up,  in  which  the 
King,  while  he  accepted  of  my  resignation,  exacted  that  I 
should  continue  the  functions  of  my  office  until  my  successor 
should  be  appointed.  The  other  letter  was  entirely  from  him- 
self, full  of  expressions  of  kindness,  and  in  the  true  style  of 
Henry  IV.  I  would  wish  to  transcribe  it  entirely;  but  I 
valued  it  too  highly  to  run  the  risk  of  losing  it  in  my 
flight;  it  remains  at  Paris,  with  several  other  letters  from  the 
King  and  Queen:  the  box  which  contains  them  is  buried  six 
feet  under  ground  in  a  garden.  I  hope  that  this  precious 
deposit  will  be  one  day  restored  to  me,  or  at  least  that 
it  will  not  be  lost  to  my  children.  In  the  meantime,  I  must 
content  myself  with  only  transcribing  part  of  his  Majesty's 
letter,  which  is  deeply  engraven  in  my  heart. 

"  I  am  sorry  that  circumstances  oblige  you  to  give  in  your 
resignation:  from  what  I  have  learned,  I  believed  you  acted 
wisely ;  but  I  do  not  feel  the  less  regret.  I  had  determined  to 
exert  myself  in  supporting  you;  but  that  devil  of  a  man  (M. 
Xarbonne)  has  brought  things  to  such  a  pass  that  it  seems 
impossible.  I  hope  your  services  will  not  be  always  lost  to 
me  and  to  the  State ;  I  may,  one  day,  perhaps,  be  in  a  situation 
to  derive  advantage  from  them." 

The  person  who  brought  this  packet,  desired  me  to  go  to 
the  King  as  soon  as  possible. 

I  waited  upon  his  IMajosty  before  I  had  roeovored  from  tlio 
emotion  occasioned  by  liis  letter;  and  be  received  mo  witli  an 


350  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OP 

air  of  sadness,  which  so  thoroughly  overcame  me,  that  I  burst 
into  tears.  He  turned  away  to  the  window,  where  he  re- 
mained some  time  silent,  to  give  me  time  to  compose  myself; 
then  approaching  me  with  a  look  of  kindness: 

"  You  always  wished,"  said  he,  "  to  give  in  your  resigna- 
tion on  the  15th  of  this  month.  You  shall  continue  in  your 
Department,  at  least,  till  then;  and  we  must  see  next  what 
can  be  done.     Have  you  seen  the  Garde  des  Sceaux?" 

"  No,  Sire,"  answered  I. 

"I  thought  he  had  gone  to  tell  you  of  Narbonne's  dis- 
missal. He  said,  when  he  parted  from  me,  that  he  was  going 
to  your  house." 

"  He  probably  went  directly,"  answered  I,  "  with  your  Maj- 
esty's orders  to  M.  de  Narbonne." 

"  iSTot  at  all,"  answered  the  King,  "  I  sent  them  by  a  foot- 
man.    There,  read  the  letter  I  wrote  to  him;  it  is  not  long." 

The  letter  contained  these  few  words: 

"  I  hereby  inform  you,  sir,  that  I  have  appointed  M.  de 
Grave  to  the  War  Department;  you  will  therefore  give  him 
access  to  the  papers  belonging  to  your  office." 

"  I  have  not  sent  you  the  memorial  of  the  Assembly,"  re- 
sumed the  King,  "  because  I  wished  to  answer  it  immediately. 
It  contains  nothing  new,  and  was  even  very  ill  written;  so 
that  the  answer  was  not  difficult." 

"  I  am  sorry,"  said  I,  "  that  your  Majesty  has  taken  so 
much  trouble.  I  have  been  employed  in  drawing  up  an  an- 
swer, which  I  have  brought  to  sliow  your  Majesty." 

"  That  is  much  too  long,"  said  the  King,  when  he  saw 
four  pages  of  writing,  "  and  therefore  useless.  Mine  is  ten 
times  shorter.     See  if  it  won't  do  much  better." 

"  Perfectly  well,  Sir,"  said  I,  after  having  read  it.  "  I 
would  not  change  a  word." 

"  I    am    glad,"    answered    lie,    "  tliat    you    approve.     Go, 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  351 

then,  to  the  Garde  des  Sceaux,  to  have  it  copied  in  his  office; 
and  after  I  have  signed  it,  he  will  countersign  it,  and  send  it 
to  the  Assembly." 

This  answer  was,  in  substance,  as  follows: 

"  That  the  King  did  not  find  an  article  of  accusation,  in  the 
memorial  addressed  to  him  against  me,  that  had  not  been  in- 
cluded in  the  former  accusations,  which  the  Assembly  had  re- 
jected by  passing  to  the  order  of  the  day;  and  that  therefore 
having  no  reason  to  adopt  a  different  opinion  of  me  from  what 
the  Assembly  entertained,  he  did  not  think  proper  to  with- 
draw his  confidence  from  me." 

I  had  this  letter  expedited  for  the  Assembly  with  all  pos- 
sible diligence,  and  it  was  sent  at  the  moment  when  the  un- 
expected news  was  received  of  M.  de  Narbonne's  dismission. 
Most  unfortunately,  my  resignation  was  not  then  known,  hav- 
ing been  sent  too  late  to  be  inserted  in  the  newspapers  of  that 
day;  and  no  more  was  requisite  to  inflame  the  Brissotines,  the 
Girondists,  and  the  whole  Cote  Gauche  of  the  Assembly.  At 
that  very  sitting,  Brissot,^  availing  himself  of  the  present  dis- 

1  Jean  Pierre  Brissot  de  Warville  (properly  Uarville,  the  village 
in  which  he  was  bom)  advocate,  journalist  and  politician,  was 
the  thirteenth  child  of  a  well-to-do  innkeeper  at  Chartres.  His 
earlier  life  was  passed  partly  in  England,  partly  in  the  offices  of 
the  Due  d'Orl^ans  and,  for  four  months  at  least  in  the  Bastille.  Tie 
wrote  on  Law  Keform  and  founded  in  1788  the  "  Societj'  of  the 
Friends  of  the  Negroes  "  to  which  in  great  measure,  the  insurrection 
and  massacre  of  the  planters  in  Hayti  1791,  was  due.  But  it  was 
as  a  journalist  that  Brissot  was  chiefly  known  before  and  during 
the  earlier  days  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  giving 
himself  the  air  of  possessing  a  vast  amount  of  esoteric  information 
about  the  Courts  and  policies  of  foreign  powers  which  gained  for 
him  a  reputation  which  was  as  useful  to  his  career  as  it  was 
without  foundation  in  fact.  He  wrote  with  a  facile  pen,  a  genius 
for  invective  and  denunciation  and  a  supreme  indifference  to  truth 
which  raised  him  to  the  first  rank  of  the  libellers  and  wholesale  liars 
who  played  so  great  a  part  in  the  history  of  the  Revolution.     Elected 


352  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

position  of  the  Assembly,  made  a  furious  declamation  against 
M.  de  Lessart,  which  produced  a  decree  of  accusation  against 
that  Minister.     (See  Introduction.) 

"Without  giving  him  time  to  make  his  defence,  or  examining 
into  the  truth  of  any  accusation  so  suddenly  brought  forth 
against  him,  this  unfortunate  and  honest  man  was,  in  con- 
sequence of  this  decree,  conducted  to  the  National  Court  es- 

to  the  Legislative  Assembly  he  became  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Left,  where  for  the  time  being  he  nominated  men  far  more  gifted  and 
more  honest  than  himself,  such  as  Condorcet,  Vergniaud  and  Gen- 
sonn6e.  So  long  as  the  Legislative  Assembly  lasted,  Brissot's  party 
was  hardly  distinguishable  from  that  afterwards  known  as  the 
Jacobins,  except  for  the  fact  that  Brissot  ana  his  friends  were 
far  more  eager  for  war  with  Austria  and  Prussia  than  were  Robes- 
pierre and  his  followers  in  or  out  of  the  Assembly.  So  far  as 
Brissot  and  the  Girondists  can  be  said  to  have  a  definite  policy,  it 
was  to  render  the  King's  position  so  impossible  as  to  force  him  to 
abdicate  and  to  leave  the  ground  free  for  the  establishment  of  their 
ideal  middle  class  Republic.  The  war  was  intended  rather  as  a  step 
towards  this  than  as  desirable  or  necessary  in  itself.  In  the  In- 
troduction to  these  Memoirs  I  have  quoted  a  conversation  between 
Brissot  and  fitienne  Dumont  of  Geneva,  which  explains  both  the 
object  and  the  methods  which  he  and  his  followers  adopted  in  their 
war  with  the  King  and  Constitution.  Dumont  describes  Brissot 
as  "  one  of  those  men  in  whom  party  spirit  prevailed  over  right 
and  justice;  or  rather  he  confined  right  and  justice  to  his  own 
party.  He  had  more  of  the  zeal  of  the  work  than  any  man  I  ever 
knew.  Had  he  been  a  Capuchin,  he  would  have  doted  upon  his 
staff  and  his  vermin; — a  Dominican,  he  would  have  burned  heretics; 
but  being  a  French  republican  he  hesitated  not  to  calumniate,  to 
persecute   and   to   perish   himself   upon   the   scaffold." 

Brissot  was  re-elected  to  the  Convention,  where  he  was  brought 
face  to  face  with  the  Jacobins,  who  had  been  represented  in  the 
Legislative  Assembly  only  by  Chabot  and  a  few  inferior  individuals. 
To  be  brought  into  direct  contact  with  such  men  as  Danton,  Robes- 
pierre and  Marat  produced  on  Brissot  and  his  colleagues  a  sobering 
eflFect.  At  the  same  time  it  cowed  them,  and  on  the  first  serious 
test,  the  King's  Trial,  they  failed,  and  this  cowardice  was  their 
own  sentence  of  death.  After  the  final  defeat  of  his  party,  31st  May 
1793,  Brissot  endeavoured  to  escape  to  Switzerland  but  was  captured 
at  Moulins,  brought  back  to  the  Abbaye  prison,  tried,  or  rather 
sent  before  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal,  and  guillotined  with  twenty 
of  his  colleagues  on  the  Slst  October   1793. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  858 

tablished  by  the  Constitution  at  Orleans.  After  remaining 
six  months  in  the  prison  of  that  Court,  without  being  brought 
to  trial,  he  was  transferred  to  Versailles,  the  September  fol- 
lowing, by  a  detachment  from  Paris,  and  there  massacred 
wrth  other  prisoners. 

In  addition  to  the  King's  sorrow  on  account  of  the  afiflic- 
tive  events  of  this  day,  particularly  the  unjust  accusation  of 
M.  de  Lessart,  a  courier  arrived  the  same  evening  from 
Vienna,  who  brought  intelligence  of  the  death  of  the  Emperor 
Leopold. 

The  Chevalier  de  Grave,^  now  appointed  Minister  of  War, 
took  his  place  in  the  Council  that  day.  His  manners,  al- 
though popular,  were  not  of  the  ostentatious  caressing  na- 
ture of  those  that  distinguished  M.  de  Narbonne,  but  his 
conduct  and  writings  since  the  Eevolution,  and  his  attending 
the  popular  assemblies  in  the  different  towns  where  he  hap- 
pened to  be  with  his  regiment,  made  him  pass  for  a  zealous 
constitutionalist  amongst  the  Jacobins,  and  for  an  enraged 
Jacobin  amongst   the  Aristocrats;  therefore  his  nomination 

2  The  Marquis  Pierre  Marie  de  Grave  (often  spelt  Graves)  held 
the  rank  of  a  Mar^chal  de  Camp  when  he  was  summoned  to  suc- 
ceed de  Narbonne,  as  Minister  of  War,  9th  March  1792.  Dumont, 
who  knew  him  well,  says,  "  He  was  an  honest  man  and  his  heart  was 
good;  he  was  not  deficient  in  acquirements  and  he  laboured  hard. 
After  two  months  of  hard  labour  he  became  bewildered  to  such  a 
degree  that  he  forgot  his  own  name  and  not  being  aware  of  what  he 
was  doing,  signed  himself  Mayor  of  Paris.  No  one  was  less  quali- 
fied to   take  a   part  in   a   stormy  administration." 

Madame  Poland  in  her  Memoirs  treats  him  with  undeserved  con- 
tempt, even  sneering  at  the  fact  that  he  was  a  well-bred  gentleman, 
an  accusation  which  could  certainly  not  be  brought  against  her 
husband  or  her  circle  of  friends. 

De  Grave  resigned  after  two  months'  experience  of  office,  on  the 
8th  May  1792.  He  emigrated  and  did  not  return  to  France 
until  1804.  In  1809  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  He  d'Oleron 
with  the  rank  of  General  of  Brigade.  After  the  restoration  he  was 
croftted  a  Peer  of  France,  17th  August  1815.  He  died,  at  the  age 
of  G8,  in  January  1823. 
Vol.  1—23 


354  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

did  not  hurt  the  King's  popularity.  In  fact,  the  chevalier 
was  neither  a  zealous  constitutionalist  nor  a  Jacobin;  but  he 
was,  what  many  well-meaning  people  in  France  were  at  that 
time,  misled  by  the  attraction  of  new  systems,  by  personal 
discontent,  or  by  views  of  ambition.  People  of  this  descrip- 
tion had  formed  a  little  system  of  reformation  suitable  to 
their  own  fancies  and  situations;  and  as  long  as  they  had 
hopes  that  their  own  plans  would  be  adopted,  all  was  well. 
In  the  progress  of  the  Eevolution,  however,  they  became 
alarmed,  and  heartily  regretted  that  they  had  ever  assisted 
it  in  the  smallest  degree;  but  being  unwilling  to  retract, 
partly  from  shame,  and  partly  from  fear,  they  yielded  to 
the  torrent. 

Whatever  were  the  motives  which  actuated  M.  de  Grave, 
before  he  came  into  the  Council,  he  certainly  showed  great 
attachment  to  the  King,  during  his  short  administration; 
which  would  have  been  still  shorter,  had  not  his  Majesty  for 
some  time  refused  to  accept  of  his  resignation. 

If  the  royalists  had  placed  more  confidence  in  him,  he  would 
certainly  have  served  them  as  far  as  was  consistent  with  the 
timidity  of  his  character. 

The  King  was  reduced  to  the  fatal  necessity  of  forming  a 
new  Ministry  at  a  time  when  he  had  not  the  power  of  ap- 
pointing a  single  individual  in  whom  he  could  place  confi- 
dence. Sensible  of  the  dangers  which  surrounded  him,  he 
now  showed  evident  anxiety  about  his  situation.  Instead  of 
the  contempt  and  indifference  with  which  he  had  supported 
the  outrages  which  he  had  hitherto  been  exposed  to,  sorrow 
and  consternation  were  strongly  marked  on  his  countenance 
during  that  sad  council  of  the  9th  of  March  1792,  which  was 
the  last  at  which  I  was  present,  and  from  which  I  retired, 
my  heart  impressed  with  the  deepest  melancholy. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

An  offensive  letter  which  I  received  from  M.  de  Cahier  de  Gerville. — 
My  explanation  with  him,  and  its  consequences. —  M.  Lacoste 
called  to  the  ministry. —  His  character. —  M.  Duport  Dutertre, 
Cahier  de  Gerville,  and  Tarb6,  their  characters  and  dismission. 
—  Dumoiiriez  called  by  M.  de  Lessart. —  Supplants  him. —  Char- 
acter of  M.  de  Lessart. 

We  were  all  sincerely  vexed  at  the  decree  of  accusation 
issued  against  M.  de  Lessart ;  but  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville,  always 
carried  away  by  his  violent  and  suspicious  temper,  took  it 
into  his  head  that  I  was  the  voluntary  cause  of  this  misfor- 
tune, and  that  I  had  prevented  my  dismission  from  appearing 
in  the  Journal  of  the  9th  of  March.  I  did  not  give  myself 
the  trouble  to  combat  his  notion,  as  I  hoped  he  would  be- 
come sensible  of  its  injustice,  upon  cool  reflection:  but  I 
found,  by  the  receipt  of  the  following  note,  a  few  days 
after,  that  he  still  continued  in  the  same  disposition  of  mind: 
"  Sir, 

"  After  what  has  passed,  you  ought  no  longer  to  attend 
the  Council;  and  I  give  you  notice,  that  if  you  appear  there 
this  evening,  I  shall  immediately  leave  it."  Signed  Cahier 
de  Gerville. 

I  knew  him  to  be  very  capable  of  this  act  of  intemperance, 
and  even  of  giving  in  his  resignation,  on  this  pretext,  with 
a  patriotic  ostentation,  which  might  have  injured  the  King's 
affairs.  This  consideration  hindered  me  from  taking  any 
notice  of  the  rudeness  of  M.  de  Gerville's  note,  which,  being 
dictated  by  a  man  blinded  by  passion,  did  not  merit  the  atten- 
tion of  a  reasonable  person. 


356  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

I  carried  my  moderation  to  the  length  of  even  going  to  his 
house,  in  order  to  find  out  if  he  had  not  a  more  reasonable 
motive  for  his  intemperate  behaviour  than  I  had  supposed. 
My  appearance  rather  surprised  him. 

"  You  seem  not  to  have  expected  this  visit,  sir,"  said 
I,  smiling. 

"  I  acknowledge  I  did  not,"  answered  he :  "  but  I  had  no 
doubt  of  your  being  offended;  and  since  you  are  come,  I  am 
willing  to  give  you  what  satisfaction  you  please." 

"  You  imagine,  perhaps,"  said  I,  "  that  I  am  come  with 
an  intention  to  challenge  you  ?  " 

"  If  it  be  so,"  replied  he,  "  I  am  at  your  commands." 

"  Explain  to  me,  in  the  first  place,  sir,"  said  I,  "  what 
your  motive  was  for  writing  to  me  in  such  in  an  imperious 
style." 

"  Because  I  have  been  informed,"  replied  he,  "  that  the 
answer  given  by  the  King  to  your  letter  of  resignation,  has 
had  a  very  bad  effect,  particularly  his  order  for  your  con- 
tinuing your  functions;  and  such  is  the  temper  of  the  people 
on  that  subject,  that  if  you  were  again  to  appear  at  the 
Council,  I  should  not  be  surprised  to  see  it  the  cause  of  an 
insurrection." 

"  Your  reason  is  very  good,"  said  I ;  "  but  you  might  have 
given  it  in  two  words,  without  putting  yourself  in  a  passion." 

''  You  know  my  impetuosity,"  rejoined  he,  "  and  also  that 
I  was  extremely  out  of  humour  at  your  conduct  with  regard  to 
poor  de  Lessart.  What,  in  the  devil's  name,  could  you  mean 
by  your  unwillingness  to  have  your  resignation  made  public 
at  the  same  time  with  Xarbonne's?  I  foresaw  what  would 
be  the  consequence;  and  you  appeared,  at  one  time,  to  have 
come  over  to  our  opinion.  WTiat  could  make  you  change  your 
mind  ?  " 

"  And  who  told  you,"  answered  I,  "  tliat  I  had  changed  my 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  357 

mind?  On  the  contrary,  I  sent  a  copy  of  my  resignation 
to  the  writer  of  the  Paris  Journal,  and  desired  him  to  in- 
sert it  in  his  paper.     What  could  I  do  more  ?  " 

"You  certainly  were  too  late  in  sending  it,"  replied  he. 

"  We  went,"  resumed  I,  "  from  the  Committee  at  three 
o'clock,  and  the  journalist  received  my  packet  before  four. 
Here  is  his  answer,  informing  me  that  I  was  too  late,  as  his 
Journal  was  already  printed." 

"  You  ought,"  said  he  "  to  have  stopped  the  publication, 
and  have  caused  another  edition  to  be  printed,  with  your 
resignation." 

"  Yes,"  replied  I,  "  but  I  did  not  receive  his  answer  till 
nine  o'clock  in  the  morning." 

"  Ah !  in  that  case  I  am  in  the  wrong :  but  I  advise  you 
not  to  go  this  evening  to  the  Council." 

"  I  am  of  your  opinion,"  I  answered ;  "  and  I  am  going  to 
give  the  King  notice,  that  he  may  not  be  surprised  at  my 
absence." 

I  accordingly  went  to  the  King  immediately,  and  gave  him 
an  account  of  what  had  passed.  His  Majesty  approved  of 
my  conduct,  and  observed,  with  some  truth,  that  it  waS' 
lucky  my  temper  was  less  violent  than  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville's. 

Lacoste,^  formerly  first  clerk  of  the  marine  in  the  depart- 

1  Jean  de  Lacoste,  the  successor  of  Bertrand  de  Moleville  as 
Minister  of  Marine,  was  appointed,  on  the  recommendation  of  Du- 
mouriez,  on  the  15th  March  1792,  and  held  office  until  the  10th  July 
of  that  year,  when  he  resigned  on  the  plea  that  the  powers  of  the 
executive  were  totally  insufficient  to  carry  on  the  Government.  Ar- 
rested in  1793  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  tried  by  the  Criminal 
Court  of  the  Department  of  the  Seine  and  was  consequently  ac 
quitted.  Had  he  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Revolutionary  Tribinial, 
the  fact  that  he  had  been  a  Minister  of  the  Crown  would  have 
been  all  the  evidence  required  to  secure  his  condemnation  and  exe- 
cution. As  it  was,  he  survived  to  hold  office  for  many  years  under 
the  Consulate  and  Empire  as  Member  of  the  "  Council  of  Naval  Prizes 
of  War."     He  died  at  the  age  of  90,  in  1820. 


358  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

ment  of  the  colonies,  and  afterwards  sent,  in  quality  of  the 
King's  commissary,  to  establish  the  new  constitution  in  the 
Isles  du  Vent,  succeeded  me  in  the  marine  department.  His 
dispute  with  M.  de  Behague,  relative  to  their  respective 
powers,  was  the  cause  of  his  being  recalled  into  France.  His 
denunciations  against  that  governor,  in  the  Assembly  and  in 
the  club  of  Jacobins,  where  he  went  upon  his  first  arrival, 
and  his  low  birth,  gave  to  his  nomination  all  the  popularity 
which  the  circumstances  required.  This  man,  so  violent  in 
his  temper,  and  coarse  in  his  manners,  ought  never  to  have 
been  raised  from  the  sphere  in  which  he  had  before  passed 
his  life,  as  it  was  most  certainly  the  one  in  which  he  seemed 
best  fitted  to  act.  Like  others  of  his  rank,  the  circumstance 
which  he  most  admired  in  the  Eevolution  was,  that  it  cleared 
the  way  to  the  first  offices  of  the  State  to  all,  without  any 
other  distinction  than  those  of  talents  and  of  virtue ;  two  qual- 
ities in  which  few  men  are  sensible  of  a  deficiency.  His  at- 
tachment to  the  Jacobins,  or  rather  his  desire  to  preserve  their 
good  graces,  led  him  into  the  indecent  absurdity  of  placing 
a  pike  in  his  hall,  with  a  red  cap  upon  it:  but,  with  all  that 
was  faulty  or  ridiculous  in  his  manners,  Lacoste  was,  at  bot- 
tom, an  honest  man :  he  detested  the  cruelties  of  the  Eevolu- 
tion; he  always  behaved  respectfully  to  the  King,  and  gave 
his  Majesty  some  proofs  of  attachment  which  required  cour- 
age. 

The  three  Ministers  who  remained  in  place  from  the  9th  of 
March,  were  M.  Tarbe,-  minister  of  finance;  Cahier  de  Ger- 

2  Louis  Hardouin  Tarbe,  after  many  years  service  in  the  Treasury, 
was  appointed  Minister  of  Finance,  18th  May  1791,  an  office  which 
he   held   until   the   close  of  March    1792. 

On  the  15th  August  of  the  same  year  he  was  included  in  a 
"  Decree  of  Accusation  "  of  High  Treason  passed  by  the  Legislative 
Assembly  against  the  ex-Ministers  of  the  King,  Montmorin.  Duport 
Dutcrtre,   Bertrand  de  Moleville  and  others. 

He  made  good  his  escape  from  France,  but  after   the  Terror   re- 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  359 

ville,  minister  of  the  interim;  and  M.  Duport  Dutertre,  Garde 
des  Sceatix,  who,  after  the  decree  of  accusation  against  M. 
de  Lessart,  was  entrusted  with  the  business  of  the  foreign 
department  till  another  minister  should  be  appointed. 

M.  Duport  Dutertre,  whom  the  Eevolution  had  raised  from 
the  situation  of  clerk,  with  a  salary  of  twelve  hundred  livres, 
to  the  first  dignity  in  the  Kingdom,  was,  from  the  beginning, 
and  with  good  reason,  the  zealous  partisan  of  a  Eevolution 
which  had  been  so  advantageous  to  him.  M.  de  la  Fayette, 
by  whose  influence  he  had  been  appointed  Minister,  and  all 
that  part  of  the  first  Assembly  which  went  by  the  name  of 
the  Left,  placed  great  confidence  in  him.  Even  after  the 
dissolution  of  that  Assembly,  he  continued  in  intimacy  with 
some  of  the  principal  persons  who  had  composed  it;  namely, 
the  Lameths,  Barnave,  and  Adrian  Duport,  who  were  every 
day  at  his  house :  he  did  nothing  without  consulting  them. 

The  constitutionalists  who  formed  the  Left  of  the  first  As- 
sembly, became  the  Eight  of  the  second,  in  which  the  Left 
was  composed  of  the  most  violent  Jacobins,  who  aimed  at  the 
overthrow  of  monarchy,  constitutional  or  otherwise ;  and  there- 
fore attacked,  with  equal  fury,  the  constitutional  Ministers, 
and  those  whom  they  suspected  of  being  attached  to  the 
ancient  government.  On  this  account  M.  Dutertre  had  nearly 
as  many  enemies  in  the  Assembly  as  myself.  He  was  obliged 
to  give  in  his  resignation  a  week  after  my  retreat,  in  spite 
of  all  his  efforts  to  support  the  Constitution,  to  which  he  was 
more  attached  by  gratitude  than  by  esteem.  Messrs.  Tarbe 
and  Cahier  de  Gerville  were  obliged  to  do  the  same,  because 
they  had  adopted  the  fatal  idea,  that  a  Ministry  entirely  com- 
posed of  Jacobins,  was  the  only  one  which  was  proper  for 

turned  to  his  native  place,  Sons.  Under  the  Consulate  he  refused 
offers  which  were  made  to  him  of  employment  l)y  Bonaparte  and 
lived  in  retirement  until  his  death  on  the  7th  July  1806. 


360  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

that  period;  and  they  persuaded  the  King  and  Queen  of  this. 

My  nomination  to  the  Marine  Department  had  given  great 
uneasiness  to  M.  Duport  Dutertre,  who  has  since  owned  to 
me,  that  he  looked  upon  me  with  an  evil  eye  for  some  time, 
as  he  was  convinced  that  I  had  only  accepted  of  the  Marine 
Department  as  a  step  to  the  Chancellorship.  But  he  became 
one  of  my  most  zealous  partisans  when  he  found  that  it  was 
not  from  ambition  that  I  entered  administration;  and,  that 
so  far  from  desiring  the  place  of  any  of  my  colleagues,  I  only 
thought  of  disengaging  myself  from  my  own  as  soon  as  I 
could  with  honour. 

Tarbe,  formerly  a  clerk  of  the  finances,  was  an  intelligent, 
active,  laborious,  honest  man,  and  entirely  devoted  to  the 
King:  he  might  have  kept  his  place  in  administration,  with 
the  consent  of  all  parties,  as  he  had  never  taken  a  step,  or 
uttered  an  expression  which  could  possibly  give  offence  to  any 
one.  He  had  no  great  talents  for  speaking,  and  drew  up 
papers  but  indifferently;  but  he  was  mild,  modest,  and  polite. 
He  seemed  much  more  impressed  with  the  recollection  of 
what  he  had  been,  than  elated  by  the  situation  he  had  risen 
to,  and  was  no  way  anxious  to  impress  others  with  the  idea  of 
his  own  importance.  Entirely  occupied  with  the  duties  of  his 
office,  which  he  was  thought  to  be  more  capable  of  discharging 
than  any  other,  it  would  have  been  fortunate  had  he  con- 
tinued in  office;  because,  in  so  doing,  he  would  have  ren- 
dered the  King  the  essential  service  of  keeping  out  Claviere, 
who  afterwards  proved  one  of  the  most  wicked  and  dangerous 
men  of  the  Eevolution. 

Cahier  de  Gerville  was  in  his  heart  a  republican;  he  de- 
tested and  despised  Kings;  and  equally  abhorred  priests  of  all 
denominations,  whom  he  accused  of  having,  in  all  ages,  been 
the  apostles  of  falsehood,  the  propagators  of  fanaticism,  and 
the  promoters  of  civil  wars  and  persecution. 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  361 

"  I  wish  from  my  soul,"  said  he  one  day  to  us,  coming 
out  of  the  Council,  "  that  I  could  hold  betwixt  my  finger  and 
thumb  that  cursed  race  of  vermin,  and  annihilate  them  with 
one  crack." 

Notwithstanding  this  strange  speech,  he  showed  no  propen- 
sity to  cruelty  in  his  actions :  but  he  might  really  be  considered 
as  a  very  hot-headed  man.  In  his  opinion,  the  Constitution 
had  one  very  great  fault;  namely,  that  it  retained  something 
of  Monarchy;  but,  as  he  had  sworn  to  observe  it,  he  was  scru- 
pulously faithful  to  his  oath. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Municipality  of  Paris ;  and  the  exer- 
cise of  municipal  sovereignty  overheated  his  naturally  ardent 
brain:  the  people  was  his  incessant  theme;  and  he  declaimed, 
with  peculiar  violence  and  volubility,  against  aristocracy,  nobil- 
ity, emigration,  and  priests.  He  saw  everywhere,  but  partic- 
ularly at  Court,  treasons,  plots,  conspiracies:  in  a  word,  he 
possessed  all  the  characteristics  of  a  stern  republican;  and,  in 
this  quality,  enjoyed  great  popularity. 

Soon  after  he  entered  the  Ministry,  he  did  justice  to  the 
King's  good  qualities;  and  became  so  sensible  of  that  prince's 
probity,  the  rectitude  of  his  intentions,  his  moderation,  and 
humanity,  that  he  almost  forgave  him  for  being  a  King.  The 
only  fault  he  found  in  him,  was  his  attachment  to  the  Cath- 
olic faith,  and  to  non-constitutional  priests.  But  Cahier  dc 
Gerville's  opinion  of  the  Queen  was  far  from  being  so  advan- 
tageous; he  looked  upon  her  as  a  haughty,  perfidious,  and 
wicked  woman,  who  thought  of  nothing  but  of  re-establishing 
despotism;  and  his  idea  of  her  Majesty  was  such,  that  when 
the  Ministerial  Committee  was  held  in  the  palace,  he  never 
would  speak  with  freedom,  from  a  notion  that  the  Queen,  or 
some  of  her  spies,  listened  at  the  door,  or  behind  the  wainscot : 
the  smallest  noise  was  sufficient  to  confirm  him  in  his  sus- 


362  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

picions,  and  prevent  his  uttering  another  syllable  during  the 
whole  time  of  the  Committee. 

He  was  one  day  extremely  offended  by  an  answer  which  the 
King  inattentively  made  him  in  the  old  regal  style,  which  was 
now  exploded.  M.  Cahier  de  Gerville  had  spontaneously  un- 
dertaken a  very  laborious  piece  of  business,  merely  in  the  view 
of  being  useful  to  his  Majesty.  After  the  Council,  he  came 
and  gave  an  account  of  it :  on  which  the  King  said,  "  I  permit 
you,  sir,  to  present  your  memorial  to  me." 

The  Minister  was  so  much  shocked  with  this  answer,  that 
he  took  up  his  pocketbook,  and  abruptly  left  the  King,  with- 
out saying  a  single  word.  He  came  immediately  to  pour  forth 
his  bad  humour  in  the  Committee;  and,  after  telling  his  col- 
leagues what  had  just  passed,  he  continued  to  repeat  with 
indignation:  " I  permit  you  to  render  me  an  essential  service; 
a  pleasant  manner  indeed  of  thanking  a  man!  .  If  I  had  had 
the  memorial  in  my  hands,  I  would  have  thrown  it  into  the 
fire.     However,  he  shall  never  set  eyes  on  it" 

The  Minister's  insolence  had  not  escaped  the  King;  but  ho 
was  forced  to  bear  with  this,  as  with  the  other  marks  of  dis- 
respect which  he  daily  received.  Two  days  after,  his  Majesty 
desired  Cahier  de  Gerville  to  bring  him  the  memorial:  he  did 
this  in  such  an  obliging  accent  and  manner,  as  entirely  to 
overcome  the  Minister's  anger.  He  immediately  brought  the 
memorial;  and  the  King  was  again  reinstated  in  his  good 
graces. 

Upon  another  occasion,  he  treated  Madame  Elizabeth  with 
great  rudeness.  This  virtuous  princess,  whose  life  was  dedi- 
cated to  piety  and  benevolence,  had  continual  applications 
from  the  unfortunate.  An  unhappy  nun  had  been  partic- 
ularly recommended  to  her  protection;  she  desired  to  see 
Cahier  de  Gerville  before  he  went  to  the  Council,  intending 
to  speak  to  him  in  favour  of  the  nun.     He  waited  upon  the 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  363 

princess;  but,  before  she  had  finished  what  she  had  to  say, 
interrupting  her  abruptly,  he  said,  "  It  is  astonishing,  Ma- 
dame, that  you  set  so  little  value  upon  the  time  of  a  Minister, 
as  to  make  him  lose  half  an  hour  in  hearing  the  history  of  a 
nun:  I  have  other  business  on  my  hands  than  the  affairs  of 
nuns;  and  you  will  forgive  me,  Madame,  when  I  tell  you 
frankly,  that  I  shall  give  myself  as  little  trouble  about  this  one 
as  about  others." 

The  mild  Princess,  whose  ears  had  never  been  wounded  by 
so  harsh  an  expostulation,  was  so  much  shocked  and  con- 
founded, that  she  suffered  the  Minister  to  leave  the  apartment 
without  attempting  to  reply. 

Cahier  de  Gerville,  finding  that  the  popularity  of  the  Min- 
istry daily  decreased,  saw  no  other  means  of  retaining  the 
little  he  still  possessed  personally,  but  that  of  giving  in  his 
resignation.  His  retreat  was  followed  by  that  of  the  Garde 
des  Sceaux,  Duport  Dutertre,  who,  having  been  chiefly  sup- 
ported by  Cahier  de  Gerville's  friendship  and  popularity,  did 
not  choose  to  remain  alone  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  his  ene- 
mies, whose  number  every  day  augmented.  He  therefore 
announced,  that  he  would  give  in  his  resignation  as  soon  as 
the  accusation  against  him  was  examined  into. 

This  determination,  which  his  friends  took  care  to  spread, 
accelerated  the  bringing  of  this  business  before  the  Assembly; 
the  accusation  was  rejected,  which,  as  his  enemies  observed, 
was  rearing  a  golden  bridge  for  his  escape. 

A  month  after  he  was  elected,  by  a  great  majority  of  votes, 
Public  Prosecutor  of  the  criminal  tribunal,  in  place  of  Robe- 
spierre, who  resigned  the  office  without  having  ever  fulfilled 
its  functions.  The  conduct  of  this  monster  has  but  too  well 
shown,  that  humanity  was  not  his  motive;  the  power  of  accus- 
ing was  no  satisfaction,  unless  he  had  also  tlio  power  of 
destroying  his  victims. 


364  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

Messrs.  Duport  Dutertre,  Tarbe,  and  Cahier  de  Gerville, 
all  gave  in  their  resignations  between  the  15th  and  20th  of 
March. 

The  new  Ministry  was  composed  of  M.  Duranthon  for  the 
Department  of  Justice,  M.  de  Grave  for  that  of  War,  de  La 
Coste  for  the  Marine,  Claviere  for  that  of  Finance,  and 
Dumouriez  for  Foreign  Affairs.  The  latter,  a  month  before 
his  nomination,  was  at  Niort,  where  he  had  been  forced  to 
take  refuge  from  his  creditors.  M.  de  Lessart  being  informed 
that  he  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Gensonne,  imagined  that 
Dumouriez's  good  offices  might  be  of  service  to  him  with  this 
deputy,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Diplomatic  Committee, 
and  one  of  M.  de  Lessart's  most  inveterate  persecutors.  In 
this  hope,  he  wrote  a  ministerial  letter  to  Dumouriez,  who  had 
long  solicited  employment  in  the  diplomatic  line,  and  desired 
him  to  come  immediately  to  Paris,  where  he  would  be  in- 
formed of  the  King's  intentions;  and,  at  the  same  time,  sent 
six  thousand  livres  to  enable  him  to  clear  off  the  debts  which 
he  might  have  contracted  in  Poitou. 

Dumouriez  hastened  to  Paris,  not  doubting  but  the  situation 
of  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  at  least,  was  intended  for  him. 
Upon  his  arrival,  he  flew  to  M.  de  Lessart.  The  Minister  told 
him,  that  nothing  was  yet  decided;  but  that  a  change  would 
soon  take  place  in  the  diplomatic  body;  and,  as  he  intended 
to  propose  him  to  the  King,  for  one  of  the  places  which  was 
to  be  vacated,  he  wished  to  have  some  conversation  with  him 
first,  that  he  might  be  able  to  judge  in  what  situation  his 
services  would  be  most  useful.  M.  de  Lessart  then  spoke  to 
hiui  of  the  opposition  he  experienced  in  the  Assembly  from 
some  of  the  principal  deputies.  At  the  name  of  Gensonne  ^ 
Dumouriez  interrupted  the  Minister. 

sArniand  Gensonn^e,  Advocate  of  Bordeaux,  and  one  of  the  Depu- 
ties of  tlie  Department  of   the  Gironde   to  the   Legislative  Assembly 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  365 

"  As  for  him,"  said  he,  "  he  is  my  intimate  friend,  and  en- 
tirely at  my  disposal;  I  not  only  take  in  hand  to  put  an  end 
to  his  attacks  against  you,  but  even  to  bring  him  to  receive 
your  commands  to-morrow  morning,  if  you  please." 

M.  de  Lessart  readily  agreed  to  this  proposal.  Accordingly 
Gensonne  accompanied  Dumouriez  next  day;  expressed  much 
regret  at  having  misunderstood  the  Minister's  intentions, 
which  had  led  him  to  oppose  his  measures;  and,  at  length, 
promised  entirely  to  change  his  conduct. 

and  the  Convention,  shares  with  Vergniaud,  Gaudet  and  Brissot  such 
honour  as  is  to  be  derived  from  the  leadership  of  the  Girondists. 

In  the  Legislative  Assembly  he  distinguished  himself  by  violent 
denunciation  of  the  Ministers,  the  Constitutionalists  and  the  Clergy. 
He  joined  with  Brissot  in  spreading  abroad  the  fable  of  the  Austrian 
Committee  and  in  promoting  the  war  with  the  Empire.  Nevertlie- 
less  he  was  probably  a  more  self-seeking  republican  than  Brissot 
or  Vergniaud.  In  any  case  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  he 
entered  into  negotiations  with  the  King  between  the  20th  June 
and  the  10th  August  and  drew  up  a  Memorandum  stating  his  views 
of  the  measures  by  which  Louis  XVI.  might  still  be  saved. 

His  speeches  in  the  Convention  on  the  King's  trial  are  curious 
and    interesting. 

As  in  the  case  of  Vergniaud  and  the  other  Girondists,  justice  and 
terror  may  be  traced  struggling  with  each  other  through  each  suc- 
cessive utterance.  Ultimately  terror  won;  lie  voted  for  Death,  salv- 
ing his  conscience  by  an  eloquent  and  able  appeal  in  favour  of  sub- 
mitting the  judgment  to  the  Sovereign  People,  and  by  adding  to 
his  final  vote  a  demand  that  the  Convention  "should  occupy  itself 
without  delay  to  the  measures  to  be  taken  witli  regard  to  the 
King's  family,  and  that  the  Minister  of  Justice  should  be  ordered 
to  take  immediate  steps  for  the  punishment  of  the  Assassins  of 
September. 

Gensonn4e's  relations  with  Dumouriez  rendered  his  position  after 
the   General's    "  Treason  "    peculiarly    perilous. 

On  the  2nd  June  he  was  one  of  the  twenty-eiglit  Girondist  Depu- 
ties who,  with  the  Ministers  Clavi&re  and  Lebrun-To>iche,  were 
ordered  to  be  imprisoned  in  their  own  houses  "  under  the  safeguard 
of  the  Nation."  The  safeguard  was  a  poor  security.  On  the  24tli 
October,  with  eighteen  of  his  colleagues,  he  was  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal  and  was  guillotined  with  the 
rest  on  the  31st  October   1793. 


366  PRIVATE  MEMOIRS  OF 

M.  de  Lessart  was  very  well  satisfied  with  this  interview; 
conceived  great  hopes  of  benefit  from  it,  and  exulted  in  the 
lucky  idea  which  had  struck  him  of  calling  Dumouriez  to 
Paris.  The  General  was  not  long  in  perceiving  this,  and  did 
not  fail  to  avail  himself  of  it,  with  his  usual  address.  On 
his  third  visit  to  the  Minister,  he  expressed  a  fear  of  being 
arrested  by  his  creditors  if  he  remained  longer  in  Paris. 
There  was  no  means  of  retaining  him,  but  by  paying  his  debts, 
which  were  pretty  considerable;  and  the  necessary  sum  was 
taken  from  the  fund  of  secret  expenses,  which  was  at  the 
Minister's  disposal. 

Some  days  after,  Gensonne  and  the  other  friends  whom 
Dumouriez  had  in  the  Assembly,  gave  him  to  understand  that 
it  would  be  an  easier  matter  for  him  to  succeed  M.  de  Lessart 
than  to  support  him ;  and,  in  this  instance,  as  in  many  otiiers, 
ambition  triumphed  over  gratitude. 

M.  de  Lessart's  talents,  without  being  striking,  were  greatly 
above  mediocrity;  he  had  a  penetrating  and  just  understand- 
ing, and  an  upright  mind,  notwithstanding  his  ambition, 
which  sometimes  misled  him.  Perhaps  he  would  have  had 
energy  of  character,  had  he  enjoyed  a  better  state  of  health; 
for  he  was  capable  of  adopting  vigorous  measures ;  but,  unless 
they  were  put  in  execution  immediately,  a  nervous  attack,  to 
which  he  was  extremely  subject,  was  sufficient  to  get  the  better 
of  them. 

He  had  long  been  the  friend,  the  favourite,  and  admirer  of 
M.  Necker:  he  acknowledged,  however,  and  bitterly  lamented 
the  faults  of  that  Minister's  last  administration;  but  those 
very  faults  appeared  in  the  eyes  of  friendship  the  errors  of 
virtue. 

"  M.  Necker,"  said  he,  "does  not  know  mankind;  and  his 
great  mistake  is  in  judging  of  the  hearts  of  otliers  by  his 
own." 


LOUIS  THE  SIXTEENTH.  367 

M.  de  Lessart  was  neither  a  republican  nor  a  constitutionalist, 
but  was  sincerely  attached  to  the  King,  whose  virtues  he  revered, 
and,  to  the  last  moment,  he  gave  his  Majesty  every  mark  of  zeal 
and  fidelity  that  was  in  his  power.  He  may  be  reproached,  like 
all  who  composed  the  Ministry  at  that  time,  with  having  con- 
tinued to  discharge  the  functions  of  his  department  after  the 
King's  departure  for  Varennes,  and  during  his  captivity.  But  it 
is  presumable,  that  his  Majesty  was  satisfied  with  the  motives 
which  had  induced  the  Ministers  to  that  conduct,  though  con- 
trary to  the  orders  he  had  left  at  his  departure;  because  he 
restored  them  all  to  his  confidence  afterwards,  and  was  very 
much  alfected  on  account  of  the  decree  of  accusation  issued 
against  M.  de  Lessart. 


INDEX. 


Barenttn  (Charles  Louis  Fran- 
cois de),  appointed  Chancellor, 
150. 

Beaupreau  (Redon  de),  his  insub- 
ordination as  Intendant  of 
iVIarine,  256;  his  duplicity  in 
recommending  Bellanger,  203- 
265. 

Bonjour,  his  exposure  and  dis- 
missal from  the  Marine  office, 
245-247. 

Brienne  (Lomenie  de,  Archbishop 
of  Sens),  characterization  of, 
105n,  111;  aspires  to  the  min- 
istry, 105-109;  his  new  law  for 
enregistering  edicts,  112;  his 
fatal  error,  118;  his  self-confi- 
dence, 140,  141;  his  dissatisfac- 
tion with  Bertrand  de  Mol?ville, 
144-140;  abandons  the  minis- 
try, in  disgrace,   149. 

Brissot  (Jean  Pierre),  conversa- 
tion with  fitienne  Dumont  upon 
tlie  trial  of  M.  de  Lessart,  44, 
45;  attacks  the  Ministers  and 
the  King  in  his  paper,  Le  Pa- 
triote  Frangaw,  307,  308;  at- 
tacks Bertrand  de  Moleville, 
333,  334. 

CALON^'E  (Charles  Alexandre  de), 
his  loss  of  popularity  costs  him 
his  ministry,  107n,  108n;  justi- 
fication of  his  errors,   110,   111. 

Cavelier  (Blaise),  his  accusation 
against  Bertrand  de  Moleville, 
240. 

Chamboras  (Marquis  de),  his  ca- 
reer, 15. 

Charles  I.,  King  of  England,  char- 
acterization of,  22,   23. 

Chronological  Table  of  Events,  21 
June  1791  to  10  August  1792. 
70-77. 

Clavi&re  (fitienne),  appointed 
Minister  of  Finance,  364. 

Condorcct    (Marie    Jean    Antoine 


Caritat,  Marquis  de),  is  re- 
quested by  M.  de  Narbonne  to 
moderate  the  style  of  his  paper. 
La  Chronique  de  Paris,  307, 
308;  is  named  President  of  tlie 
Assembly,  writes  a  disrespect- 
ful letter  to  the  King,  321,  322. 

Constitution,  The  new,  deprives 
the  King  of  power,  its  charac- 
ter, 40-43,  205. 

Coudic  (M.  de),  demagogue  of  the 
French  Revolution,  124;  escapes 
the  receipt  of  a  lettre  de  cachet, 
137. 

Du  Faure  de  Rociiefort  (  M.  ) , 
nominated  Intendant  of  Brit- 
tany,  155. 

Dumont  (fitienne),  his  Memoirs 
quoted,  in  regard  to  the  trial  of 
M.  de  Lessart,  44,  45. 

Dumouriez  (Charles  Frangois  Du- 
p6rier),  his  military  and  diplo- 
matic career,  50-59 ;  his  Memoirs 
quoted,  52-58;  owes  his  ap- 
pointment as  Minister  to  M.  de 
Lessart  and  promises  him  the 
support  of   Gensonn^e,   304-300. 

Duportail  (Louis  Lebegue),  his 
dismissal  as  Minister  of  War, 
210. 

Duranlhon,  appointed  Minister  of 
Justice,  364. 

Dutertre  (Marguerite  Louis  Du- 
port),  his  career  as  Garde  des 
Sceaux,  230n;  his  resignation 
demanded,  359 ;  elected  Public 
Prosecutor,  363. 

EsTAiNG  (Charles  Louis  Hector, 
Count  d'),  requests  the  title  of 
Admiral  Ea:traordinary,  which 
was  granted,  271,  272. 

Faucuet    (Claude,    Abb<5),    sketch 

of  his  career.  225h,  220/;. 
Fleurieu     (Charles    Pierre    Claret 


369 


370 


INDEX. 


de),  his  unfortunate  career  as 
Minister  of  Marine,  200-202. 

Fortescue  (G.  K.),  his  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Memoirs  of  Bertrand 
de  Moleville,  1-66,  with  List  of 
Books  written  or  edited  by  Ber- 
trand de  Moleville,  67-69; 
Chronological  Table  of  Events, 
21  June  1791  to  10  August 
1791,  by,  70-77. 

Fouages  extraordinaires,  point  of 
dispute  in  the  States  of  Brit- 
tany, 155,  156. 

France,  threatened  with  a  rupture 
by  Algiers,  312-315. 

French  Revolution,  immediate 
cause  of,  109;  power  of  the  Dis- 
tricts of  Paris  to  hasten  its 
course,   189-192. 

Genson  n:6e  ( Armand ) ,  promi  ses 
to  support  M.  de  Lessart,  365. 

Gerville  (Bon  Claude  Cahier  de), 
appointed  Minister  of  Home  Af- 
fairs, 233;  insults  Bertrand  de 
Moleville  by  letter,  355;  his  res- 
ignation demanded,  359;  char- 
acterization of,  360-363. 

Grangeneuve  (Jean  Antoine), 
sketch  of  his  career,  85n,  86n. 

Grave  (Pierre  Marie,  Marquis 
de),  appointed  Minister  of  War, 
353;  his  character  and  career, 
353,  354. 

Hayti,  is  embued  with  the  Revo- 
lution fever,  8-10. 

Hervilly  (M.  d'),  accused  of  in- 
sult to  a  member  of  the  nobil- 
ity, fights  a  duel,  137,  138. 

Juign£  (Antoine  Eleanor  de, 
Bishop),  is  appointed  Arch- 
bishop of  Paris,  107;  institutes 
the  first  known  Fire  Insurance, 
107n. 

Lacoste  (Jean  de),  appointed 
Minister  of  Marine,  357,  358. 

La  Fayette  (Marie  Joseph  Paul 
Roche  Yves  Gilbert  du  Motier, 
Marquis  de),  his  unpopularity 
and  final  downfall,  60-64;  his 
letter  of  the  16th.  June  quoted, 
61,  62;  is  questioned  by  the 
King    upon    the    state    of    the 


armies,  332;  he  asks  for  the 
resignation  of  Bertrand  de 
Moleville,  332,  333. 

La  Jaille,  assaulted  at  Brest  by  a 
mob,  256;  his  imprisonment  and 
deferred  trial,  257,  258. 

Lamoignon  (Chancellor  de),  his 
censure  of  Bertrand  de  Mole- 
ville's  conduct  in  Brittany,  146- 
148;  retreats  to  a  foreign  coun- 
try, 150. 

Legislative  Assembly,  The,  its  first 
sitting,  212;  antagonism  to- 
wards the  King,  212,  213. 

Lessart  (Claude  Antoine  Valder 
de),  appointed  Minister  of  For- 
eign Affairs,  220;  impeached  of 
High  Treason,  44,  45,  352,  353; 
his  justification  by  the  Assem- 
bly, 238,  239;  letter  from,  to 
the  King,  upon  the  resignation 
of  Bertrand  de  Moleville,  343- 
347;  characterization  of,  366, 
367. 

Linguet  (Simon  Nicolay  Henri), 
proposes  the  name  of  M.  Du- 
chilleau  as  governor  of  St.  Do- 
mingo, 295-298;  his  attempted 
revenge  upon  Bertrand  de  Mole- 
ville's  failure  to  obtain  the  ap- 
pointment of  M.  Duchilleau, 
299-303. 

Louis  XVI.,  curious  resemblance  in 
his  character  and  circumstances 
to  Charles  I.,  20-22;  character- 
ization of,  23-28;  explanation  of 
his  signing  the  new  Constitu- 
tion, 30;  his  flight  to  Varennes, 
and  its  results,  32-37;  forced  to 
assemble  the  States-General,  95; 
abandoned  by  his  regiments,  99 ; 
his  sensibility,  100;  his  diffi- 
dence, 103;  dismisses  M.  Necker 
and  is  forced  to  recall  him,  187, 
188;  is  confined  to  the  Tuileries 
as  a  prisoner,  203,  204;  forced 
to  accept  the  new  Constitution, 
205 ;  appoints  Bertrand  de  Mole- 
ville Minister  of  Marine,  200- 
209 ;  his  fidelity  to  the  Constitu- 
tion, 207,  208,  304;  issues  a 
proclamation  against  emigra- 
tion, 214;  refuses  to  sanction 
decree  against  emigration,  229- 
232;    refuses  to  sanction  decree 


INDEX. 


371 


enjoining  priests  to  take  a  new 
oath,  237,  238;  rids  himself  of 
a  spy,  Marquis  de  Chauvelin, 
253;  his  difficulty  in  raising  a 
guard  for  his  household,  250- 
254,  324,  325 ;  scarcity  of  specie 
for  his  private  purse,  254-256; 
his  remarkably  active  mind, 
305;  is  insulted  by  Brissot  in 
his  paper,  308;  receives  a  secret 
message  from  Tippoo  Sahib, 
Sultan  of  Mysore,  315,  316;  is 
insulted  by  Condorcet  in  a  let- 
ter, 321-324;  his.  regret  at  Ber- 
trand  de  Moleville's  resignation, 
and  his  exoneration  of  his  con- 
duct, 349-351 ;  his  necessity  of 
forming  a  new  ministry,  354, 
364. 

Louis  Charles  (Dauphin  of 
France),  his  tragic  life,  317«- 
320n. 

Luckner  (Nicolas,  Count),  is  ques- 
tioned by  the  King  upon  the 
state  of  the  armies,  331,  332. 

Marie  Antoinette,  Queen  of 
France,  characterization  of,  28, 
29 ;  her  consideration  for  the 
safety  of  Bertrand  de  Moleville, 
320. 

"  Massacre  of  the  Champ  de 
Mars,"  result  of,  36. 

Maurepas  (Jean  Fr6d4ric  Phely- 
pcaux,  Count  de),  his  malicious 
influence  upon  Louis  XVI.,  100- 
104. 

Meli6e  de  La  Touche,  makes  a 
dupe  of  Bertrand  de  Moleville, 
13,  14. 

Moleville  (Antoine  Francois  Ber- 
trand de),  his  birth  and  ances- 
try, 1 ;  appointments  held  by 
him,  2,  3 ;  refuses  to  wear  the 
National  Cockade,  5 ;  deplorable 
condition  of  the  French  Navy  at 
the  time  he  was  made  Minister 
of  Marine,  6-8;  resigns,  10;  his 
devotion  to  the  royal  family,  10, 
11;  his  exile,  11,  17;  his  con- 
troversy with  Fox,  13;  seeks  to 
aid  the  Count  de  Puisaye,  16; 
his' letters,  16-18;  his  means  of 
support,  18,  19;  characterization 
of,  19,  20;  value  of  his  Memoirs, 


20;  only  two  editions  of  his 
Memoirs  ever  produced,  viz., 
1797  and  1816,  65,  66;  List  of 
Books  written  or  edited  by,  67- 
69;  his  object  for  publishing  his 
Memoirs,  79  ;  source  of  his  Mem- 
oirs, 93;  his  criticism  of  the 
States-General,  94-95;  his  mis- 
sion to  Brittany,  as  Intendant, 
113-125;  assaulted  by  the  mob 
in  Rennes,  125,  126;  attempts, 
with  M.  de  Thiard,  to  prevent 
Parlement  from  assembling, 
128;  animosity  of  the  people 
against,  129;  anecdote  of,  132, 
133;  notifies  Archbishop  of  Sens 
of  the  failure  of  the  new  laws, 
143;  his  life  threatened  by  mob, 
143,  144;  goes  to  Versailles,  his 
cold  reception,  144-148;  de- 
mands of  Necker  to  annul  the 
fouages  extraordinaires  in  Brit- 
tany, 153,  154;  his  resignation, 
155;  is  consulted  by  three  depu- 
ties of  Brittany,  157-159;  re- 
fuses the  Presidency  of  the 
Grand  Conseil,  159,  160;  deliv- 
ers a  memorial  concerning  the 
dissolution  of  the  States-Gen- 
eral, 160^165;  refuses  place  of 
Garde  des  Sceaua,  188;  is  made 
Commissary  of  the  District 
"des  minimes,"  191;  retires  to 
private  life,  194;  refuses  office 
of  Minister  of  Marine,  202,  203 ; 
is  offered  the  oflTice  of  Minister 
of  Marine  a  second  time  and 
obliged  to  accept,  206-209;  in- 
curs the  censure  of  the  Assem- 
bly by  asking  aid  for  St.  Do- 
mingo, 223-225 ;  animosity 
against  him,  owing  to  misrepre- 
sentation of  his  remarks  upon 
emigration,  232 ;  Cavelier  ac- 
cuses him  on  the  pretence  of  the 
affair  of  the  Moniteur,  239,240; 
his  defence,  241,  242;  his  justi- 
fication, 242,  243;  procures 
specie  for  the  King's  civil  list, 
254-256;  demands  that  the  As- 
sembly pass  necessary  naval  de- 
crees, 259;  his  fidelity  to  the 
Constitution  regarding  naval 
matters  gives  rise  to  a  decree 
of  accusation  against  him,  which 


372 


INDEX. 


he  thwarts,  259-262;  quotatiou 
of  his  entire  speech  upon  the 
state  of  the  colony  at  St.  Do- 
mingo, 281-293;  results  of  this 
speech,  295;  incurs  the  enmity 
of  M.  Linguet,  on  account  of  his 
disability  to  grant  the  condi- 
tions imposed  by  Madame  Du- 
chilleau  relative  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  her  husband  to  St.  Do- 
mingo, 295-303;  cannot  prevail 
upon  the  King  to  censure  Bris- 
sot  for  his  publication  in  Le 
Patriate  Frangais,  310-312;  is 
warned  by  Marie  Antoinette, 
320;  endeavors,  with  others,  to 
form  a  royalist  party  in  the  As- 
sembly, 325-327;  is  attacked  by 
Narbonne,  328,  329;  refuses  to 
resign,  333;  attempts  a  recon- 
ciliation with  Narbonne,  334- 
338;  agrees  to  resign  on  cer- 
tain conditions,  342;  his  letter 
of  resignation  to  the  King;  the 
King's  reply  and  graciousness, 
348-351;  receives  an  offensive 
letter  from  Cahier  de  Gerville, 
355-357. 

Montmorin  (Armand  Marc,  Count 
de),  defence  of  his  character, 
195-200;  resigns  his  office  as 
Minister,  218. 

Moustier  (fitienne  Frangois,  Mar- 
quis de),  loses  nomination  for 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  and 
is  appointed  Ambassador  to  Con- 
stantinople, 217,  218. 

Narbonne  (Louis,  Count  de), 
characterization  of,  nationality, 
career  of,  46-50;  appointed  as 
Minister  of  War,  221,  222;  his 
popularity,  226;  beseeches  the 
Queen  to  get  him  appointed  as 
Prime  Minister,  227,  228;  at- 
tempts to  silence  Brissot's  and 
Condorcet's  utterances  as  jour- 
nalists, 307,  308;  reveals  the  se- 
cret of  the  formation  of  a  roy- 
alist party,  327 ;  quarrels  with 
Bertrand  de  Moleville,  328,  329; 
absents  himself  from  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ministers,  332 ;  re- 
fuses to  become  reconciled  with 
Bertrand  de  Moleville,  334-338; 


his  exposure  by  Generals  Ro- 
chambeau,  Luckner  and  La  Fay- 
ette, 339,  340;  the  Ministers 
decide  never  to  sit  in  Council 
with  him  again,  341. 

"  National  Cockade,"  The,  its 
origin  and  significance,   193n. 

Necker  (Jacques),  his  power  in 
the  ministry,  96;  his  influence 
over  Louis  XVI.  secures  the 
double  representation  of  the 
Tiers-£tat,  98,  99;  he  is  recalled 
to  the  ministry,  149,  188;  his 
vanity,  151;  rejects  Bertrand 
de  Moleville's  memorial,  164; 
sketch  of  his  ministerial  career, 
166-182;  characterization,  182- 
184. 

Oeleans  (Louis  Philippe,  Joseph, 
Duke  d'),  his  protestations  of 
loyalty,  upon  his  appointment 
as  admiral,  267-270;  is  insulted 
by  the  courtiers,  270,  271. 

Parlement,  assembled  10th.  of 
May,  1788,  120;  holds  assem- 
blies, contrary  to  the  King's  or- 
ders, 128,  131 ;  sent  into  exile 
by  means  of  lettres  de  cachet, 
136. 

Potion  (Jerome,  de  Villeneuve), 
his  questionable  conduct  as 
Mayor  of  Paris,  235»,  236n;  his 
suspension  and  re-instatement, 
236n;    his   death,   237n. 

Peynier  (Count  de),  retracts  his 
acceptance  of  command  of  the 
Navy,  278,  279. 

Puisaye  (Count  de),  his  contro- 
versy with  the  Duke  d'Avary, 
16. 

RocHAMBEAU  (Jean  Baptiste  Do- 
natien  de  Vimeu,  Count  de),  is 
questioned  by  the  King  upon  the 
state  of  the  armies,  331. 

Rouyer  (Jean  Pascal),  his  ridicu- 
lous letter  to  the  King,  asking 
for  the  rank  of  first  Minister, 
273-278. 

SfioiJB  (Louis  Philippe,  Count 
de),  rejects  the  office  of  Minis- 
ter, 218,  219. 

Stael    (Madame  de),   adopts  Nar- 


INDEX. 


373 


bonae  as  her  prot4g4,  47;  smug- 
gles him  to  England,  49. 

Stainville  (Mar^chal  de),  sent  to 
Rennes  to  preserve  order,   149. 

States  General,  The,  its  composi- 
tion, 95n--98n;  conduct  of,  after 
the  King's  declaration,  23d.  of 
June,  1789,  185. 

Tarb:6  (Louis  Hardouin),  his 
character,  and  dismission  as 
Minister  of  Finance,  300. 

Thevenard  (Antoine  Jean  Marie), 
is  appointed  Minister  of  the 
Marine,  20(j;  resigns  his  office, 
206;  his  petty  instructions  to 
his  successor,  Bertrand  de 
Moleville,  209-212;  makes  a 
general  promotion  in  the  Ma- 
rine, 215. 

Thiard    (Count  de),  sent  to  Brit- 


tany to  enregister  Edicts,  114; 
characterization  of,  114;  his 
difficulty  in  conducting  the  af- 
fair of  enregistering  laws  in 
Parlement,  123-125;  assaulted 
by  the  mob  at  Rennes,  125,  12G; 
causes  the  insurrection  by  a  fa- 
tal order  to  the  troops,  12G, 
127;  attempts  to  prevent  Parle- 
ment from  assembling,  128;  his 
weakness  in  not  ordering  Parle- 
ment to  separate,  134-136. 

Tiers-fitat,  The,  its  number  of  rep- 
resentatives doubled,  1788-89, 
96,  9771. 

Vergnlvud  (Pierre  Victorien), 
sketch  of  his  career,  81n-83n. 

Versailles,  Court  of,  its  brilliancy 
under  Louis  XVI.,  25. 


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